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At 74, Megawati needs to choose son or daughter as successor
So far the most realistic alternatives are Puan or Prananda.
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Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri. (JP/Zul Trio Anggono)
M
egawati Soekarnoputri is now undoubtedly one of the most, if not the most, powerful people in the country. The daughter of the country’s founding president Sukarno, and herself the country’s fifth president, chairs the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), currently the largest and ruling political party.
Like it or not, Megawati will continue to play a decisive role in defining the country’s political direction as long as she remains healthy.
But no one can defy nature. Born on Jan. 23, 1947, she is now racing against time to make up her mind as to who will succeed her as the leader of the secular, nationalist-oriented party. A failure to do this in a correct and timely manner will put the party in jeopardy and, as a consequence, Sukarno’s political dynasty will be in great danger.
The PDI-P has always been associated with Sukarno; in fact the party claims to have inherited his legacy. There is little chance for individuals outside Sukarno’s bloodline to take over the party’s helm because they would not win support from the party’s grass roots.
Last month Hadi Rudyatmo, the former mayor of Surakarta, Central Java, apparently tried to open the Pandora’s Box of succession within the party. He explicitly named Megawati’s second child, Muhammad Prananda Prabowo, the best candidate to succeed his mother.
Megawati has two sons, Mohammad Rizki Pratama and Prananda, from her first husband, the late Air Force captain Surindro Supjarso, and one daughter, Puan Maharani, from her third husband, the late businessman Taufik Kiemas. The daughter is much better known compared with her siblings, as she appears to have been groomed from the very beginning as the “crown princess”.
It remains unclear why Rudy, the former deputy of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo when the latter was Surakarta mayor, has started the discourse on succession, but the party will only hold a national congress in 2024, just before the general election.
