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New Order nostalgia not enough to put Soeharto family in House
The Berkarya Party, led by Soeharto's children, failed to meet the 4-percent threshold to get into the House of Representatives.
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Berkarya Party chairman Hutomo Mandala Putra alias Tommy Soeharto (second left), the party's secretary-general Priyo Budi Santoso (second right) and Titiek Soerharto (center) pose for a picture after a press conference in Bantul, Yogyakarta, in this file photo. (Antara/Andreas Fitri Atmoko)
D
espite lingering nostalgia in some quarters for the New Order era, the Berkarya Party, the party of former president Soeharto’s children, has failed to get into the national legislature.
The Berkarya Party was founded in 2016 by Soeharto’s youngest son Hutomo “Tommy” Mandala Putra, who left Soeharto’s former political vehicle Golkar in 2016 after a failed bid for the party chairmanship.
Tommy’s older sister Siti Hediati Hariyadi, better known as Titiek Soeharto, also left Golkar in 2018 to join Berkarya.
According to the General Elections Commission's (KPU) official result announcement, Berkarya garnered 2.9 million votes or 2.09 percent of the national legislative vote, falling short of the 4 percent needed to obtain seats in the House of Representatives.
Despite being forced to resign following massive protests and rioting across the country, Soeharto himself remains a beloved and respected figure for many Indonesians. Rice self-sufficiency and high economic growth achieved in the 1980s are considered the watermarks that subsequent presidents are often judged against.
A 2018 survey by Jakarta-based pollster Indo Barometer poll showed 32.9 percent of respondents believed that Soeharto was Indonesia’s most successful president, while 32.6 percent said conditions during the New Order were better than they are currently.
T-shirts and other paraphernalia bearing a smiling portrait of the former president and the Javanese slogan piye kabare, isih penak jamanku, tho? (miss me, yet?) are widely available for sale.
