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It's a family affair: Political dynasties take center stage in 2024 polls
Megawati’s granddaughter is running for legislative seat, the latest heir of the Sukarno clan to enter politics.
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Chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Megawati Soekarnoputri (front center) speaks with chairwoman of Political and Security Affairs Puan Maharani (front left) and chair of the UMKM, Creative Economy and Economics Division Prananda Prabowo (front right) in the Determination of Regional Candidate Pair of Regional Heads in Jakarta, on Feb. 19, 2020. PDI-P officially establishes 49 pairs of candidates for district/city and one provincial level to advance in the regional election in 2020. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
Indonesian politics appears to have increasingly become a family affair, with relatives of political elites and sitting governors, mayors and Cabinet ministers running for seats at the House of Representatives, cementing the reign of political dynasties in the country.
At least three political heirs have been confirmed to be running in the upcoming legislative race, including Diah Pikatan Orissa Putri Hapsari, known as Pinka Hapsari, the daughter of the House of Representatives Speaker Puan Maharani and the granddaughter of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Megawati, the daughter of Indonesia's first president, Sukarno, is the first woman to serve as president of Indonesia, while Puan is the first woman to serve as House speaker.
An international relations graduate from SOAS University of London, Pinka, who has no previous experience as a politician, has hinted at her interest in politics to her grandmother before she, along with her brother Praba Diwangkata Caraka Putra Soma, was first introduced to the public and party members by Megawati during the party’s 50th anniversary earlier this year.
Prinka, who is set to follow in the footstep of both her mother and grandmother in politics, would become the youngest legislative candidate nominated by the party, secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto said last week.
"The party continues to recruit through political education and regeneration and the recruitment process comes from the family. It is a culture that has been built not only in Indonesia, but in the United States, in Singapore, in Europe. Political parties, which are the pillars of democracy, recruit from families,” Hasto said.
Prinka’s nomination was in line with the party’s desire to add a younger generation to the party, Hasto said, adding she had undergone a political education and ideology school hosted regularly by the party, the same requirement other party members had fulfilled.
