JAKARTA. Given recent political upheaval following the President’s controversial decision to nominate Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan as the next National Police chief, it is not without reason that many fingers are now pointing to powerful elites in Jokowi’s alliance.
In the past few weeks, tensions between the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the police escalated after the antigraft body named Budi a suspect a day before he attended a confirmation hearing on becoming the new police chief at the House of Representatives on Jan. 14.
Jokowi and Budi were not the only ones mortified by the KPK’s move. While the police’s “dignity” may have been at stake, analysts suggested the move angered Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politicians the most.
Budi is a protégé of PDI-P chairwoman and former president Megawati Soekarnoputri and was Megawati’s adjutant during her presidential term between 2002 and 2004.
The two have enjoyed close relations since, with Budi being one of the few within Megawati’s circle of confidants to have supported Jokowi in last year’s presidential campaign as well as the PDI-P during last year’s legislative election.
NasDem Party chairman Surya Paloh, another major supporter of Jokowi’s administration, is also among those elite figures said to be furious at the KPK’s move against Budi. He made clear his support for Budi as the new top cop.
“If Budi was not a suspect, would the earth collapse?” Surya said before NasDem members last week. “People call us pro-corruption. I say go to hell with that!”
The Surya-owned national TV station Metro TV and newspaper Media Indonesia have also criticized the KPK’s move to name Budi a suspect.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla also joined the fray by questioning the KPK’s motives. Kalla argued that preliminary observations suggested the charges facing Budi, the current chief of the National Police’s education and training division, had not triggered state losses.
“The KPK should clarify which aspect of the case caused losses,” he said.
Activists slammed Jokowi’s nomination of Budi, but they also highlighted Megawati’s and Surya’s influences, as they felt that Jokowi’s clean track record made it unlikely that the President would have hidden interests in the nomination.
Jokowi failed to control the damage and compromised by postponing Budi’s inauguration pending the latter’s legal process in regard to bribery and gratuity charges, which could take more than a year.
Again, people associated the controversial move with the powerful influences of the President’s inner circle, particularly Megawati and Surya.
Many also view the police’s arrest and naming of KPK deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto as a suspect on Jan. 23 as retaliation fueled by “powerful interests” that wanted to cripple the KPK.
As a new figure on the national political stage, Jokowi has had weak party support amid his stellar rise to the top in less than three years. This has forced him to award Cabinet seats and top positions at state-owned companies to the close associates of Megawati, Surya and Kalla.
Megawati’s PDI-P, for example, received eight ministerial seats in the Working Cabinet of 34 members, while Surya’s NasDem got three seats and the post of attorney general, despite his party winning only 6.2 percent of seats in the House.
As Jokowi has thus far been unable to address the crisis, which has left the position of permanent National Police chief vacant and has lead to escalating friction between the KPK and the police, calls on Jokowi to leave the PDI-P are mounting.
A survey by national pollster the Cyrus Network, released this month, showed that 83 percent of 1,200 respondents nationwide believed Megawati wielded influence in Jokowi’s policy-making. As many as 72.8 percent pointed to Vice President Jusuf Kalla, while Surya was mentioned by 49.1 percent of respondents.
Cyrus political analyst Hasan Batupahat said Jokowi was facing a hard time securing his presidential authority.
“Jokowi is now in power but who controls the government? Is it Megawati? Surya?” he said.
“He must be in a difficult situation right now. He wants to resolve this issue. I see that he is trying to do it but not in a frontal way. He will eventually achieve full control but it takes time to get there,” he added.
Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) political analyst Arya Fernandes urged Jokowi to immediately break free of Megawati’s and Surya’s influences.
“If Jokowi does not want to be called a ‘puppet’, or if he does not want to be branded a hostage to the powerful politicians surrounding him, he must also make a decision that is in opposition to Megawati and Surya Paloh,” he said.
“This is about his declining approval, which could be dangerous if the public isn’t convinced that he can retake full authority as president.”
Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjajanto acknowledged that as a politician, Jokowi took into consideration suggestions from the leaders of pro-government political parties.
“It’s normal, [but] if the influences came from [Golkar Party chairman] Aburizal Bakrie or [Gerindra Party chairman] Prabowo Subianto, then it could be confusing,” he said.
Golkar and Gerindra are both members of the opposition Red-and-White Coalition that has turned out to pose less of a threat to Jokowi’s administration than his own Great Indonesia Coalition in his first 100 days in office.
Golkar legislator Bambang Soesatyo has repeatedly indicated that the controversy surrounding Budi’s nomination sparked infighting and a power struggle within Jokowi’s camp.
Bambang said a powerful figure could be behind the scenes, directing Jokowi’s actions.
“All of you and I know what really happens between the [Presidential] Palace and Teuku Umar [the street where Megawati resides in Central Jakarta],” he said.
What Jusuf Kalla received
1. Friend Sofyan Djalil appointed coordinating economic minister.
2. Friend Rachmat Gobel appointed trade minister.
3. Protégé Rudiantara appointed information and communication minister.
4. Protégé Sofyan Basir appointed president director of electricity company PT PLN.
What Megawati received
1. Daughter Puan Maharani appointed coordinating human development and culture minister.
2. Friend Rini Soemarno appointed state-owned enterprises minister.
3. Friend Susi Pudjiastuti appointed maritime affairs and fisheries minister.
4. Confidant Ryamizard Ryacudu appointed defense minister.
5. Rini’s friend Arief Yahya appointed tourism minister.
6. PDI-P politician Tjahjo Kumolo appointed home minister.
7. PDI-P politician Yasonna Hamonangan Laoly appointed law and human rights minister.
8. PDI-P politician Anak Agung Gede Ngurah Puspayoga appointed cooperatives and small and medium enterprises minister.
9. Andika Perkasa, the son-in-law of Megawati’s confidant AM Hendropriyono, who helped Jokowi during the campaign, installed as Presidential Security Detail (Paspampres) commander, despite lacking experience. Hendropriyono’s son, Diaz, appointed commissioner in the country’s biggest cellular operator, PT Telkomsel, despite lacking industry experience. State-run PT Telkom has majority shares in Telkomsel.
10. PDI-P politician Dolfie Othniel Frederic appointed as a member of PT Telkom’s board of commissioners, making him the first active politician in a decade to be directly involved in running a state company.
What Surya Paloh received
1. NasDem politician Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno appointed coordinating political, legal & security affairs minister.
2. NasDem politician Siti Nurbaya Bakar appointed environment and forestry minister.
3. NasDem politician Ferry Mursyidan Baldan appointed agrarian and spatial planning minister.
4. NasDem politician HM Prasetyo appointed attorney general.
5. Surya’s company is behind the planned import of fuel from Angola. Jokowi has forged an energy deal with Angola to cut dependency on fuel imports from the spot market.
(Bagus BT Saragih)
