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Puan, heir to largest party, first female House speaker
Analysts believe that being the House speaker, coupled with her position as the heir apparent of the nation's largest party, will give her a strong platform for the presidential race in 2024.
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Lawmakers from Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) take pictures while pointing at Puan Maharani (front center) at the House of Representatives building in Central Jakarta on Oct. 1 during the inauguration of new House members. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
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awmaker Puan Maharani, former coordinating human development and culture minister and daughter of Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, has been elected as the new House of Representatives speaker for the 2019-2024 legislative term, making her the country's first female House speaker.
Analysts believe that being the House speaker, coupled with her position as the heir apparent of the nation's largest party, will give her a strong platform for the presidential race in 2024. It also means she will be in a better position to succeed her mother as PDI-P chairperson in the 2020 national congress, when Megawati is expected to step down.
The granddaughter of the country's first president, Sukarno, took the oath of office during a plenary session on Tuesday night, along with the four new deputy speakers representing the other political parties that gained the largest number of votes in April’s election, namely Azis Syamsuddin of the Golkar Party, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad of the Gerindra Party, Rachmat Gobel of the NasDem Party and Muhaimin Iskandar of the National Awakening Party (PKB).
Puan won the biggest personal vote in the election gaining 404,034 votes in the Central Java electoral district. The PDI-P won 128 seats in the House, taking 19.3 percent of the vote and is thus entitled to the speakership post as per the 2018 Legislative Institutions (MD3) Law.
Her father, the late former People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker Taufiq Kiemas, was also a respected political leader, and he has often been cited as “a good example of an MPR leader” as he was known for promoting harmony in the assembly.
"There is finally a woman [speaker] in the House after 74 years. I hope I can inspire other Indonesian women to realize that politics is not a taboo subject. The dynamics are very fast, but they can produce women who could bring benefits to the country,” Puan said on Tuesday.
However, there remains the suggestion that the youngest daughter of Megawati and Taufiq is little more than a privileged politician who has begun her career with a gifted position, given that she achieved no great breakthrough during her time as a minister, before resigning on Sept. 30 to be sworn in as a lawmaker.
