The position of Speaker of the House of Representatives, left vacant by Novanto, is now being fiercely contested by Golkar Party cadres.
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Kompas/Alif Ichwan
Golkar Party candidate chairman Airlangga Hartanto (right) shakes hands with Golkar Party Honorary Council chairman and Indonesia’s third president BJ Habibie as Kosgoro chairman Agung Laksono (third from right) and Golkar Party acting chairman Idrus Marham (left) look on after the opening of the Gotong Royong Multipurpose Organization Association (Kosgoro) 1957 national work meeting in Jakarta on Tuesday (12/12).
The position of Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR), left vacant by Setya Novanto, is now being fiercely contested by Golkar Party cadres. Setya, who is the defendant in a graft case, has been detained by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
At the end of his political career, Setya tried to appoint Aziz Syamsuddin as the House Speaker. However, Aziz’s appointment ended in failure after it was opposed by the party’s cadres. Setya lost power in the party after the Jakarta Corruption Court tried him and changed his status to that of defendant.
Control of the party will apparently be taken over by Airlangga Hartarto who is also the Industry Minister in President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s Cabinet. Airlangga’s position as the general chairman of Golkar Party will be decided at an extraordinary national meeting of the party. Meanwhile, the position of the House Speaker remains vacant.
Setya was elected as the House Speaker in a package deal proposed by the Red and White Coalition, which backed the presidential and vice presidential pair of Prabowo Subianto and Hatta Rajasa.
At the end of the DPR period of 2009 to 2014, after Jokowi and Jusuf Kalla were elected as president and vice president, respectively, the DPR changed the way the speakership was elected. Previously, it had been chosen proportionally based on legislative election results.
The change was believed to have been a follow-up reaction to the result of the presidential elections. The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), as the winning party of the general elections, did not even have cadres in the DPR speakership.
This package system election turned out to be short-lived. Not long after assuming the position as House Speaker, Setya was hit by the “Papa asks for shares” issue and was tried by the House’s Honorary Council. Setya was told to quit and was replaced by Ade Komaruddin. Through various legal maneuvers, Setya took over the House speakership position again, replacing Ade. However, because of his involvement in the e-ID corruption case, he again tendered his resignation. Now, Setya’s chair is again being fought over. Fahri Hamzah’s position as the House Deputy Speaker was blocked by a faction of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) who dismissed him. Fahri went to court and won it back.
Under the Law on the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), DPR, Regional Representatives Council, and Provincial/City Legislative Councils (DPRDs), Setya’s chair must be filled by a Golkar cadre.
However, we hope whoever is appointed as the House Speaker is a man of integrity and free of corruption. The cadre must have the political competence to help lift the House’s image, which is now at a critical level.
The position of the House Speaker is central and strategic. In this context too, the public and other factions must know what type of figure will help the House rise from adversity.
