SURABAYA. Amid reports of an ongoing feud at Surabaya City Hall, Mayor Tri Rismaharini, commonly known as Risma, met with recently appointed Deputy Mayor Wisnu Sakti Buana on Wednesday, their first face-to-face meeting since Wisnu was inaugurated on Jan. 24.
The meeting was held early afternoon at Risma’s office and lasted for about 15 minutes. Risma had paid a visit to Wisnu’s office, only to find the deputy was out attending an event at the Surabaya Police headquarters.
When Wisnu returned 20 minutes later, he went to the Risma’s office and upon entering kissed the mayor’s hand, he said.
“It’s common for a child to kiss his mother’s hand. What’s wrong with that?” Wisnu told journalists after the brief meeting.
According to him, in the meeting Risma asked him to represent the mayor’s office at an upcoming conference of the Association of the Indonesian City Administrations (Apeksi) in Dumai, Riau.
After the meeting, Risma, who is Surabaya’s first female mayor, confirmed that things were fine between the two, who are both Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politicians.
Earlier, Risma had threatened to resign over what she alleged was the illegal appointment of Wisnu, who was installed as deputy after Bambang DH stepped down to run in the province’s gubernatorial election last year.
According to the mayor, a signature in a letter sent to the Home Ministry from the Surabaya City Council endorsing Wisnu — who is chairman of the PDI-P Surabaya chapter — had been forged.
PDI-P Surabaya chapter deputy chairman Adi Sutarwijono has denied the signature forgery.
Risma is known to have a close relationship with PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, while Wisnu is the son of late PDI-P secretary-general Sutjipto, who was one of the chairwoman’s closest aides.
Risma is also a rising star in the party, projected to become a national leader by many observers.
According to political expert from Airlangga University Hariyadi, though the party had seen increasing popularity in East Java, the reported quarrel between Risma and Wisnu could hurt the PDI-P in the upcoming April legislative election.
PDI-P senior politician Saleh Ismail Mukadar said that an outsider could have triggered the quarrel in a bid to drive Risma out of PDI-P and into the ranks of a rival party.
“I suspect somebody sparked the conflict intentionally,” said Saleh, adding that Risma strengthened the party’s overall popularity.
Hariyadi echoed this notion, saying the feud at Surabaya City Hall was instigated by other parties. “They try to provoke and then benefit from the conflict, which might threaten PDI-P’s solidity ahead of the election,” he said.
He added that complete reconciliation between the mayor and her deputy would depend on intervention by the chairwoman.
“Bu Risma and Wisnu are like children in the PDI-P. If the children are in a fight, the parents will try to bring peace between them. The parent figure in the PDI-P is Megawati,” Hariyadi said.
Since her inauguration in 2010, Risma has transformed some slums in Surabaya into green spaces. She has been both criticized and lauded for making several bold moves, including a plan to shut down the city’s red-light districts and filing a report with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) accusing the former management of the Surabaya Zoo of graft. (Wahyoe Boediwardhana)
