TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsAnalysis: Jokowi, PSI forge mutually beneficial alliance
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo speaks with the media after the departure ceremony of the National Disaster Management Agency's (BNPB) mission to deliver humanitarian aid, 60 tonnes of medical and hygiene supplies on two planes, to Egypt for Palestinian refugees and Sudan at Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport in Jakarta on April 3, 2024. (AFP/Yasuyoshi Chiba)
F
ormer president Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) have formed an alliance that aims to advance their respective interests in elite politics. While the PSI seeks to secure seats at the House of Representatives in the next general election, Jokowi appears to be carving out a political role so he can continue to wield influence after his presidency, particularly after he was dumped by his former party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
Originally scheduled for May, the 2025 PSI national congress took place on July 19-20 in Surakarta, Central Java, Jokowi’s hometown and the city that helped catapult him to the country’s highest office. For the venue, the party chose Graha Saba Buana, which is adjacent to Jokowi’s private residence, signifyign the deep political ties between the PSI and the Widodo family.
During the congress, Jokowi’s youngest son Kaesang Pangarep was reelected as PSI chairman for the 2025-2030 term with 65.28 percent of the vote. While the party said its election involved a transparent mechanism based on the principle of one person, one vote, PDI-P politician and former PSI member Guntur Romli claimed that Kaesang's victory was predetermined a month prior.
The congress also saw the PSI unveil a new logo: a redheaded elephant, which it says represents strength, composure and dignity in Javanese philosophy.
Jokowi attended the congress, publicly endorsing the PSI and reportedly planning to chair its board of advisors. He expressed optimism that the PSI would become a dominant political force by 2034, despite its struggle to gain a foothold in past elections: it garnered 1.89 percent in 2019 and 2.8 percent in 2024, both below the 4 percent legislative threshold.
Kaesang's entry into the PSI just before the 2024 election failed to secure any House seats, prompting the party's further efforts to leverage Jokowi's high public approval rating of 75 percent.
However, Jokowi's statement that the PSI should not be controlled by members of the political elite or certainly families, which seems to have been aimed at parties like the PDI-P, drew criticism for its hypocrisy, given that his son holds the PSI chairmanship. Amien Rais, a former speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly, warned this could erode public trust, while PDI-P lawmaker Aria Bima pointed out that Jokowi joining the PSI advisory board would contradict the party's vision of openness.
