PDI-P secures future political standing through state institutions
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician Darmawan Prasodjo was recently appointed president director of state electricity company PLN. Darmawan’s appointment adds to the growing list of senior PDI-P members holding strategic positions in state institutions, a move likely aimed at securing the ruling party’s political future as the President’s final term comes to an end.
State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir replaced senior banker Zulkinfli Zaini with Darmawan as PLN’s president director on Dec. 6 in hopes that Darmawan – an energy and climate change expert with decades of experience – can trigger a breakthrough in the country’s transition to renewable energy.1
Darmawan previously served as PLN’s vice president director, a position he held after spending four years at the Presidential Office. Even prior to that, he also served as an adviser to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo during the 2014 presidential election.
Ever since Erick, who is also a former campaign manager for Jokowi, was appointed SOEs Minister, many PDI-P members have secured strategic positions at SOEs. This may be why Darmawan’s appointment was met with criticism from the opposition Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), which called on the government to refrain from politicizing the second-largest state-owned company.2
Arguably, it is the SOEs Minister’s prerogative to appoint capable candidates to occupy executive positions at SOEs, especially as members of the Cabinet function as an extended arm of President Jokowi himself. Since Jokowi’s reelection in 2019, many high-level posts have been handed over to PDI-P politicians.
In January this year, for example, Budiman Sudjatmiko was appointed independent commissioner of PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) V, a company under state-owned plantation firm PTPN III.3 Dwi Ria Latifa, who was a member of the House of Representatives for the 2014-2019 period from the PDI-P faction, was also appointed commissioner of state-owned lender PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI).
The appointment of former Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama as president commissioner of state-owned energy firm Pertamina in 2020, just two years after joining the PDI-P is also widely known.
It is not uncommon for politicians to be appointed top posts at SOEs, as state companies are usually regarded as political cash cows that can support cost-intensive campaigns to run in elections. However, the move may also be the PDI-P’s long-term strategy to maintain its political presence long after Jokowi’s presidential term ends.
Considering that Indonesia’s current political landscape tends to be influenced more by personalities as opposed to ideologies, it is an effective move on the PDI-P’s part. Not to mention that PDI-P chairwoman Megawati also currently leads the Pancasila Ideology Development Board (BPIP) and was also named chief advisor of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), which oversees the Assessment and Application of Technology Agency (BPPT), the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology, the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (Lapan) as well as the National Nuclear Agency (Batan).
As the PDI-P expands its influence by occupying strategic posts at state institutions, it is also worth paying close attention to how other important positions will be filled very soon, namely the General Elections Commission (KPU) and the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu), both of which institutions will directly impact the upcoming 2024 general election.
The selection process for new KPU commissioners and Bawaslu members is already underway as the tenure of current commissioners and members is expected to end by April 11 next year.
The 11-member selection committee, in charge of selecting new election administrators and supervisors, however, was formed by the government and had initially drawn criticism, especially when members of the committee comprised of allies of the ruling coalition.4
Names previously under scrutiny included Juri and Chandra M. Hamzah. Juri had been involved in the Jokowi-Ma’ruf Amin national campaign team for the 2019 presidential election and currently works at the Executive Office of the President. Meanwhile, Chandra was appointed by former SOEs minister Rini Soemarno in 2014 to serve as PLN commissioner.
Noting this potential conflict of interest, experts continue to call for transparency of the selection process of the KPU-Bawaslu members for the 2022-2027 period. As of now, the selection committee already confirmed a total of 28 eligible candidates for KPU and 20 candidates for Bawaslu.5
Four of the eligible candidates are incumbent KPU members, namely Hasyim Asy’ari, I Dewa Kade Wiarsa Raka Sandi, Ilham Saputra and Viryan.6
While several PDI-P members have occupied strategic positions at SOEs, sources have said that the party had not officially recommended their cadres to SOEs Minister Erick. According to a source, PDI-P members are actually expected to carve their own paths to assume top posts at SOEs.
“It is just that they continue to report to the party,” the source explained.
PDI-P cadres who occupy positions at SOEs, the source added, are typically those who failed to win House of Representatives seats. For example, Budiman Sujatmiko was appointed a commissioner of PTPN V after losing the contest in the East Java VII electoral district, which covers Ponogoro, Trenggalek, Magetan, Ngawi and Pacitan regencies.
Arif Budimanta also lost the battle in the West Java III electoral district, and was instead appointed a commissioner of state-owned publicly listed Bank Mandiri.
The source also said there have been cases when PDI-P members were appointed SOE commissioners due to their proximity to the President. Such was the case for Ahok. “Each commissioner has their own path,” said the source.
With Darmawan’s appointment as president director of PLN, sources have said that the PDI-P had endorsed Darmawan for the post since the party won the 2019 elections. “We simply hadn’t received prior approval from the President,” the source added.
On the other hand, there have also been cases where PDI-P members submitted their names for commissioner positions, but not through party channels. This was done by Adian Napitupulu, who competed with 98 activists to be appointed a position as commissioner.
“In this context, Adian did not fight for the PDI-P, but rather for the position,” said the source.
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