Megawati: Young People Need Progress to Mature

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DENPASAR, KOMPAS — Politics is a matter that deals with the nation and state. With regard to this, according to chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Megawati Soekarnoputri, young people who have entered politics must first go through the process of maturation.

"If a young person is smart, but he has never experienced the process of state governance, it might not work. This is also the same with the old ones. From my experience in politics, if someone wants to enter politics, he must at least become a member of the House of Representatives (DPR). This is a matter of the nation and the state so that the ones who are supposed to be the leaders are competent people who have experience in politics," said Megawati on the sidelines of the fifth congress of the PDI-P in Bali on Friday (9/8/2019).

After being appointed by the congress to be chairperson of PDI-P for the 2019 to 2024 term, Megawati has the prerogative to arrange the management of the party\'s central leadership council.

One PDI-P politician, Arif Wibowo, said that according to the PDI-P’s rules of association and internal bylaws (AD/ART) the general chairperson even had the right to propose the next general chairperson. "Whether the proposal is accepted or not depends on the congress," he said.

Regeneration

A lecturer at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University in Jakarta, Gun Gun Heryanto, saw that Megawati\'s reappointment as the chairperson of the PDI-P showed the party had a strong dependence on Megawati who has led the PDI-P since 1999.

As a winning party of the election, said Gun Gun, Megawati\'s presence is indeed needed to oversee the running of the government. Megawati is also needed to unify PDI-P. If she would no longer be a central figure in the PDI-P, there are fears of friction in the party.

However, at the same time, according to Gun Gun, this situation could create a distance between Megawati and the second layer in her party. This possibility needs to be considered because it can disrupt the leadership circulation process in PDI-P.

The secretary-general of PDI-P (2015 to 2019), Hasto Kristiyanto, said that regeneration continues to be carried out by PDI-P as an institution.

A researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Arya Fernandes, explained that currently PDI-P is regenerating, especially for the external realm. This, among other things, can be seen from the emergence of a number of PDI-P members in local and national leadership, such as President Joko Widodo, Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini and the head of the National Population and Family Planning Agency, Hasto Wardoyo. However, the regeneration at the external level needs to be balanced with leadership regeneration in the internal realm.

Because the culture of political leadership in the PDI-P will not go far from the Sukarno clan, according to Arya, the two figures who have the potential to continue Megawati\'s leadership are her two children, Prananda Prabowo and Puan Maharani. The next five years could be a time for education and maturation for Prananda and Puan in the national political arena.

An Indonesian Institute of Sciences researcher, Syarif Hidayat, assessed that Prananda and Puan still needed to mature.

Meanwhile, Puan dismissed the notion that there was a kind of division of roles between her and Prananda in the party\'s regeneration process. "There is nothing like that in PDI-P. PDI-P looks at the track record or performance of every individual who works for this party. So, it is not a matter of giving a certain place to someone, but because it indeed deals with a track record," she said.

Regional elections

PDI-P aims for big wins in the 2020 regional elections and the 2024 general election. The victories are needed to ensure the sustainability of development programs. Arif explained that his party was aiming for a victory in at least half of the 270 regions that hold local elections in 2020. "Of the total wins, we also want 75 percent of the winners to be PDI-P members," he said.

Arif said he is optimistic that the target can be achieved. Almost all regions won by PDI-P in the 2019 general election have the potential to go again to PDI-P in the 2020 regional elections.

"We also want a hattrick in the 2024 general election," Arif said. PDI-P members are projected to become presidential candidates or vice presidential candidates in five years. More than that, the party also pegged the acquisition of at least 147 seats in the DPR.

Another PDI-P politician, Bambang Wuryanto, said the third victory after two consecutive elections in 2014 and 2019 was aimed at ensuring a sustainable development program. The foundations of development laid by President Jokowi in his two terms must be continued.

"So far the main problem in our country has been an unsustainable development program," Bambang said. Without the victory of PDI-P members at the national level, it is feared that the direction of development from 2014 to 2024 will shift in the next administration period. (REK/NIA/COK/AGE)

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