F

ollowing its recent success in the election of Joko “Jokowi” Widodo as Jakarta governor, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is turning to West Java, where it wants to nominate respected corruption activist Teten Masduki to run for the province’s top job.

Teten, currently the secretary-general of Transparency International Indonesia (TII), has come out on top in opinion surveys conducted in West Java by the PDI-P.

“Based on the survey, Teten is the most preferable candidate, so in all likelihood we will nominate him,” PDI-P secretary-general Tjahjo Kumolo said on Wednesday.

Gerindra also previously expressed interest in nominating Teten to be the governor of West Java, which with a population of 43 million people is the nation’s largest province.

The party’s secretary-general, Ahmad Muzani, said that Gerindra wanted to build a coalition to nominate Teten, as it lacks the requisite seats in the West Java Legislative Council to nominate a candidate outright.

“We only have eight seats on the council, whereas a party is required to have at least 15 seats to be able to nominate a candidate. Therefore, we will propose a coalition with other parties, and we certainly think highly of the PDI-P,” Ahmad said.

Tjahjo, however, said that the PDI-P, which has 18 seats on the council, would likely go it alone in nominating Teten. “We had to partner with Gerindra in the Jakarta election because we lacked seats in the provincial council. It seems that we don’t need to do that in West Java because we have fulfilled the minimum requirements to nominate our candidate.”

Other figures that fared well in the PDI-P’s surveys were PDI-P actress-turned-lawmaker Rieke Dyah Pitaloka and National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Nanan Sukarna.

Rieke, who sits on House Commission IX overseeing demographic affairs, health, manpower and transmigration, previously expressed interest in running for governor for the 2013-to-2018 period and asked Teten to serve as her running mate.

“I hope he is ready to work with me. I know his work,” said Rieke, referring to Teten’s reputation as a corruption activist.

Teten said that he welcomed the move from both the PDI-P and Gerindra to nominate him. “I can’t comment on the future partnership between the PDI-P and Gerindra to support my candidacy. Let them settle it internally. I’m willing to work with any parties that are committed in making changes in this country.”

He indicated he preferred to work with the PDI-P, saying that he shared the same vision with the party.

He also said he had a strong emotional tie to the PDI-P, which is led by former president Megawati
Soekarnoputri. “I’m willing to work for a better future with the PDI-P because I can see that the party is committed to working for the people.”

Once nominated by the PDI-P, Teten is expected to face incumbent Governor Ahmad Heryawan, who will likely be nominated by the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS). Incumbent Deputy Governor Dede Yusuf has also expressed interest in running for the province’s top job.