Jakarta – The United Development Party (PPP) leadership formed at a November 2014 national meeting (mukernas) in Jakarta appears to have learned the lesson that current political reality dictates that only party leaderships that support the government will be considered legitimate.
After attending the closing event of the Aburizal Bakrie-led Golkar Party national leadership meeting in Jakarta on Monday evening, Djan Faridz, the PPP chair elected at the 2014 Jakarta mukernas, said he would bring his party into the ranks of political parties supporting President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla's administration.
"We will join those political parties supporting the government. We will hold a national leadership meeting to settle our internal conflicts," said Djan, who was accompanied by PPP secretary-general Dimyati Natakusuma.
Since taking office, the Jokowi administration has, in cases of parties having rival leaderships, consistently only legitimized those that back the government.
One day after he was inaugurated on Oct.29, 2014, Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna H. Laoly moved to legalize the PPP leadership elected at a congress in Surabaya, East Java, on Oct.15-17, 2014, at which Muhammad "Romy" Romahurmuziy was appointed party chairman.
Prior to the minister's decision to legalize his leadership, the Romy camp had pledged allegiance to the government, declaring that it had left the opposition Red-and-White Coalition led by losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto and joined Jokowi's Great Indonesia Coalition. A senior member of the Romy camp, Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, was subsequently appointed religious affairs minister.
The minister's decision was later overturned by a Supreme Court ruling recognizing Djan and the PPP leadership elected at the November meeting.
However, the court's ruling does not fully legitimize Djan's leadership, as party leaderships must be confirmed by a law and human rights ministerial decree. As such, in a bid to obtain such a decree, Djan has followed in Romy and Aburizal's footsteps and publically pledged support for the government.
In the Golkar meeting closing event on Monday evening, Aburizal conveyed the pledge of allegiance to the government to three ministers in attendance, namely Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut D. Panjaitan, Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo and Yasonna.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla witnessed the hand-over of the declaration statement signed by Aburizal and party secretary-general Idrus Marham.
"The Golkar Party declares that it will support and work together with the Jokowi-Kalla administration to carry out developments in various fields for the sake of the prosperity of all Indonesian people," the statement read.
Following the declaration, Kalla confirmed that the government would issue an approval letter for the Aburizal camp to hold an extraordinary national meeting. Any decision resulting from the meeting will have to be accepted by all parties, including the splinter faction led by Agung Laksono. (ebf)(+)
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/01/26/ppp-takes-cue-golkar-reconciliation.html