The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) finally arrested Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) secretary-general Hasto Kristyanto in a political fallout resulting from the party's growing distance from the government.

The PDI-P, a former ruling party that backed the administration of former president Joko "Jokowi" Widodo for a decade, has grown apart from the government after refusing to support Prabowo, Jokowi's chosen presidential candidate, in the 2024 election.

Although the PDI-P remains the largest political party in the House of Representatives after the election, it has found itself powerless vis-à-vis the government coalition led by Prabowo’s Gerindra Party. The PDI-P barely showed its mettle but followed the rhythm of the grand coalition as evinced in the recent swift revision of the Mineral and Coal Law.

Prabowo and PDI-P matriarch Megawati Soekarnoputri are said to have maintained a good relationship since 2009, but it has grown pale amid the rift between Megawati and Jokowi.

Hasto has fallen victim to the power dynamics among the three political behemoths. In the final months of Jokowi’s presidency, the antigraft body reopened the investigation into the graft case allegedly involving Hasto, who has been a staunch critic of Jokowi in the past year, after putting the case on the backburner for years.

Megawati has spent months courting Prabowo to keep their good rapport and avoid the consequences of any animosity between them. The PDI-P has gone as far as refraining from saying it opposes the Prabowo administration, although it insists on staying outside of the government despite Prabowo’s offer to join the ruling coalition.

Megawati’s efforts to be more accommodating with the President have been fruitless as Prabowo opts to prioritize relationships with those in the government coalition and supporters, including Jokowi. Hasto was arrested despite reported negotiation between the elites of the PDI-P and Gerindra to keep him from KPK custody.

On a positive note, however, Hasto's detention may offer the PDI-P momentum for a clean break from the government. It may return to its role as an opposition force to the establishment that rewarded it with widespread public trust during the New Order, the authoritarian regime led by Prabowo's former father-in-law Soeharto. The PDI-P also assumed the checks-and-balances role during 10 years of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s presidency, which led the party to two double legislative-presidential election wins in 2014 and 2019.

The question now is does the PDI-P still have the fire of resistance burning? The country desperately needs a counterweight to Prabowo's dominance. Otherwise, Indonesia will return to an authoritarian era.

We hope the PDI-P will play its role as a critical voice for government policies that go against the people’s wishes. The party will gain public respect if it does so.

In this regard, House Speaker Puan Maharani, Megawati’s daughter, should no longer sit as a silent spectator amid the maneuvers of the ruling coalition. After all, Puan leads PDI-P lawmakers who form the largest faction in the House.

It is time for Puan to take a more decisive role than her mother, whose influence is diminishing in the national political landscape because of her age. Just recently Megawati backtracked her own instruction for PDI-P regional heads to postpone their participation in the government-sponsored retreat at the Military Academy in Magelang, Central Java, by asking new Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung to attend the event and bridge communication between the party and the government.

Criticism is needed to keep the government on the right track. The Indonesia Gelap street protests against Prabowo were part of the efforts to remind the government of its flaws. The PDI-P as a de facto opposition party should play a critical role.

The PDI-P's bold move might just bring balance back to the country's democracy and at the same time woo the popular support it needs in the next elections.