Jakarta – Siti Hediati Haryadi, popularly known as Titiek Soeharto, will reportedly serve as the coordinator of electorate district commands for the Berkarya Party, one of the strategic positions in the new party she has decided to join after leaving the Golkar Party.
"It is true, Mbak Titiek Soeharto has joined the Berkarya Party where she will hold a senior and strategic position in the party's structure," Berkarya secretary-general Priyo Budi Santoso said as quoted by Antara on Tuesday.
Priyo said that besides coordinating all of the legislative candidates across Indonesia, Titiek would also run as the party's candidate for a House of Representatives seat representing Yogyakarta.
Titiek announced that she had resigned from Golkar to join Berkarya, which is led by her brother, Hutomo Mandala Putra, or Tommy Soeharto, in Bantul, Yogyakarta, on Monday.
Titiek and Tommy are the children of Indonesia's second president, Soeharto, whose 32-year New Order regime ended in 1998 following massive student protests against the administration's corruption and nepotism.
In her declaration on joining Berkarya, Titiek said she was saddened by the condition of Indonesia's poor.
"There are around 7 million unemployed people who live in poor conditions in Indonesia now," she said. She added that her voice had never been heard in Golkar, which is currently in President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's coalition. (gis/ebf)