President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Megawati Sukarnoputri, the chair of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the largest party in the coalition government, have sharp and probably irreconcilable differences in their approaches to the 2024 presidential race. Jokowi, a member of the PDI-P, appears to be supporting Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto of Gerindra, another coalition member party. Meanwhile, Megawati has named Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo as the PDI-P candidate.

While the two have significant differences of opinion on how the country should be run, these were mostly kept out of the public eye. Jokowi often consulted Megawati as the party chair who gave him the presidential ticket in 2014 and 2019. With the elections six months away, cracks have emerged in this partnership, and they could widen unless the two reconcile their differences.

PDI-P Secretary General Hasto Kristyanto fired the first salvo, labeling Jokowi’s massive food estate project a complete failure and calling it an “environmental crime” because of the massive deforestation it has caused.

Hasto may have been targeting Prabowo, who as defense minister, was entrusted with running part of the project, especially when he claimed that the project’s money may have gone to the coffers of political parties. But the ultimate target cannot be any other than Jokowi, who launched the project in 2020 as part of his food security program. Hasto would not have spoken up so harshly against the President without the consent of party boss Megawati.

This week, Megawati fired a shot back by going public that she had told Jokowi several times to dissolve the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) as it is “no longer effective”, an indirect criticism of the president’s failure to stem corruption. For good measure, she reminded her audience that the KPK was set up in 2002 when she was president. In the first 15 years, the KPK jailed many cabinet ministers, top judges, police officers and politicians, but it faltered under a new law in 2020 that stripped away many of its investigative powers.

Jokowi has defended the food estate project to ensure adequate rice supply in anticipation of possible global shortages. He admitted that in some areas, the rice project failed but in others they have started to reap harvests. The President did not address the criminal charge, but under the 2024 budget plan he revealed last week, the food security program receives huge sums, some of which will go toward the food estate projects.

In deference to Jokowi’s power, House Speaker Puan Maharani softened the PDI-P charge. When asked about Hasto’s criminal claim, Puan, who is Megawati’s daughter, said: “Maybe it’s going too far to say that. We need to do field research first to determine that.”

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