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PDI-P has problem in West Sumatra and history is to blame
In a normal setting, the speech from senior PDI-P politician Puan Maharani could be considered tame, if not normative. "We hope that West Sumatra can indeed be a province that will support a Pancasila state," Puan said in his closing remark in a virtual meeting to announce the ticket of Mulyadi and Ali Mukhni to run in this year's gubernatorial election.
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Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of the fifth PDI-P congress in Sanur, Bali, on Aug 8, 2019. (JP/Zul Trio Anggono)
T
he Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is so unpopular in West Sumatra that even an effort to reach out to voters in the region has been swiftly met with a backlash.
In a normal setting, the speech from senior PDI-P politician Puan Maharani could be considered tame, if not normative. "We hope that West Sumatra can indeed be a province that will support a Pancasila state," Puan said in his closing remark in a virtual meeting on Wednesday to announce the ticket of Mulyadi and Ali Mukhni to run in this year's gubernatorial election.
The leadership of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) in West Sumatra quickly condemned the statement, saying that Puan not only insulted West Sumatran natives but also all members of its diaspora community in the country.
Late last week, a student group filed a police report against Puan, again saying that such a statement was an insult to the West Sumatran community.
Local politicians and activists have also taken issue with what Puan's mother, PDI-P chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri said earlier in the meeting.
“I wonder why the people of West Sumatra don't appear to like the PDI-P [...] We need to analyze why people in West Sumatra seem to have trust issues with the PDI-P," Megawati said in the same virtual meeting on Wednesday.
Puan and Megawati's statements were the latest expression of frustration from the party's top brass about the fact that despite winning a majority of votes in large parts of the country, the PDI-P has problems making inroads into West Sumatra.
