Senior PDI-P figure Sutjipto dies after stroke

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) senior figure and former party secretary-general Sutjipto passed away Thursday after a day of hospitalization due to stroke.

PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri is slated to attend the funeral service for the late party member today in Surabaya.

“God willing, Megawati will come to pay her last respects at the funeral,” East Java PDI-P deputy chief Bambang Dwi Hartono said Thursday as quoted by tempo.co.

Sutjipto was known for his loyalty to Megawati since the party was under the oppressive New Order regime.

He was among the few who at that time chose to struggle with Megawati from the outskirts of the country’s political stage rather than joining the government’s puppet version of PDI-P under Soerjadi.

Later, after PDI-P gained popularity, Sutjipto was made head of PDI-P’s House faction. He was also later installed as the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) deputy chief.