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Kalla urges caution in PMI race as Golkar politician Agung seeks chairmanship
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An official from the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) shows a blood bag from a donor on April 30, 2020, at the PMI's blood transfusion unit in Central Jakarta. (Antara/Aprilio Akbar)
I
ndonesian Red Cross (PMI) incumbent chairman Jusuf Kalla has urged caution in the race for the organization’s top spot as Golkar Party politician Agung Laksono threw his hat in the ring ahead of the PMI’s national meeting.
The humanitarian organization is currently holding its national meeting from Sunday to Monday in Jakarta, during which it will also elect a chairman for the next five years. Kalla, a former Indonesian vice president, has held the PMI chair position since 2009.
While the humanitarian organization has yet to announce any official candidates for chairmanship, speculations grew that Agung would contest Kalla’s position following a November circular by the Indonesian Blood Donor Committee (KDDI) calling for regional PMI heads to support Agung.
Kalla has responded by saying everyone “has the right” to run for chairman, though he also warned those who do to “uphold ethics and meet the requirements as regulated in the PMI bylaws.”
“This can’t turn into a political party [situation]. This group is about humanitarian issues, so we must lead with ethics and follow the group’s rules and bylaws,” Kalla, who chaired Golkar from 2004 to 2009, said last week, Antara reported.
Agung, who is not a member of the PMI, declared his readiness to run as a potential candidate in a press conference on Friday.
Currently serving as the head of the KDDI’s advisory board, Agung said that he had “met the requirements” to be considered a candidate for the chairman position, which includes getting the support of 20 percent of all PMI members at the national meeting.
