C

ritics slammed Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chief Megawati Soekarnoputri'€™s charged speech during the PDI-P congress last week that saw her overburdening President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo with an instruction to obey the party.

Philips J. Vermonte, a political analyst at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said that Megawati'€™s demand that Jokowi obey party orders because he was '€œa party official'€ was out of step with the country'€™s political system. In a country that follows a presidential system, he said, an elected president served all the citizens, regardless of his political affiliation.

Philips said that a leader struggling for the party'€™s interests only occurred in a parliamentarian political system.

'€œThe logic behind [the notion that the president is a party official] is something that former president Sukarno [also Megawati'€™s father] opposed for a long time. Our political system is presidential, therefore the supreme authority is in the hands of a president,'€ he told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Siti Zuhro, a political analyst from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said that Megawati'€™s speech during the PDI-P congress in Bali, in which she said she was in charge of the party and therefore ordered Jokowi to toe to the party line, was a sign of communication problems between Jokowi and Megawati.

'€œThe two should have settled the problem before the congress,'€ she said.

Previously, members of the PDI-P reportedly slammed Jokowi for his decision to drop Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan as National Police chief and nominate Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti instead.

Jokowi decided to drop the ex-adjutant of Megawati as his nominee for police chief over his alleged involvement in a graft case. Lawmakers from the PDI-P demanded that Budi be nominated as soon as possible, as he had gained House endorsement. Jokowi, however, proceeded with his decision to nominate Badrodin as the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) was still investigating Budi'€™s case.

Megawati used last week'€™s PDI-P congress, which led to her reelection as party chief for the fourth time, as an opportunity to lambaste Jokowi'€™s decision.

'€œIt goes without saying that the President must toe to the party line, because the party policies are consistent with what the public wants,'€ she said.

When asked about whether or not Megawati'€™s speech would impact the electability of the party, Siti said it all depended upon Megawati'€™s program.

'€œIf she makes a pro-people program then I am pretty sure the party'€™s supporters will still stick with the party in the next election. If not, the people will leave it,'€ she said. (saf)