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PDI-P scolds Risma for whining in public
Puan Maharani
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Puan Maharani. JP/P.J. Leo
The recent 'over-sharing' by Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini in public has been blasted by executives of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which endorsed her in the 2010 regional election.
The leader of the PDI-P faction at the House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, who is also the daughter of party chairwoman and former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, called on Risma, as the mayor is called, to stop involving outsiders in the fray between her and her deputy, Wisnu Sakti Buana.
The issue, according to Puan, had already been settled. She said Risma should have instead focused on her duties and obligations as the mayor of the country's second largest city.
'Don't vent [your anger] everywhere,' Puan said on the sidelines of a meeting with House Commission I overseeing defense, foreign affairs and information on Monday.
'It's OK to lament, but it's best to not make things worse. ['¦] We should remain aware and control our ambitions and emotions,' she added.
The dispute began when Risma questioned the legitimacy of Wisnu's appointment by the party's Surabaya branch without consulting her.
She reasoned that a signature on a letter from the Surabaya Legislative Council to the Home Ministry to endorse Wisnu's appointment had been forged.
Wisnu was appointed to replace former deputy mayor Bambang DH, who stepped down to run in the East Java gubernatorial election last year.
Risma initially raised the issue with Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi, who said the ministry would look into the matter and that Wisnu's appointment could be annulled if irregularities were found.
Last week, the deputy House speaker from the Golkar Party, Priyo Budi Santoso, invited Risma to a closed-door meeting to discuss the matter.
After the meeting, Risma said that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had also personally called her to talk about the dispute as well as to encourage her not to give up the mayoral post despite pressure for her to do so. Rumors have circulated that the feud between Risma and Wisnu were engineered by rival parties in an attempt to lure quality members away from the PDI-P, particularly those in leadership positions nationwide.
Puan said she was aware of such attempts, particularly approaching the elections. 'All senior PDI-P members must be careful in this political year. Everyone is allowed to choose which party is the best for them, but each of us must be ethical and inform the party about it,' she said.
PDI-P senior politician and Peoples Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Sidarto Danusubroto deplored the 'nationalization' of the spat.
'I didn't expect the problem to attract national attention because it was a local issue,' Sidarto said,
declining to comment further.
Priyo slammed the PDI-P for trying to stop external intervention in the Surabaya mayoral dispute, arguing that the authorities had the right to protect public figures such as Risma from being illegally ousted.
