The ruling party has survived decades of attacks on that premise, which PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto refers to as a “frequently fabricated political tactic to ruin the party’s electability”.

 

The issue also emerged during the 2014 presidential elections when the party nominated Joko “Jokowi” Widodo as its candidate. He was accused of being the son of a communist, but the slung mud did not stick. The PDI-P went on to secure the majority of votes in two consecutive elections.

 

The ploy was recently used again to attack the party for its support of the proposed Pancasila ideology guidelines (HIP) bill, but this time, the blow seems to have landed and has caused infighting between Puan Maharani and Prananda Prabowo, both of whom are children of PDI-P matron Megawati Soekarnoputri.

 

Puan, the current House of Representatives speaker, and her lesser-known step-brother Prananda have privately traded barbs as the party looks to tame opposition from Muslim conservatives and groups of military retirees who have accused the PDI-P of attempting to promote communism through the bill, according to two political sources familiar with the process.

 

The controversial bill is the result of a rivalry between two competing factions led by Puan and Prananda respectively, both of whom have been touted as potential successors to Megawati as party chair, the two sources from within the party told The Jakarta Post.

 

The growing rivalry between them is a challenge that analyst Firman Noor from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) has called “the most determining factor for the party’s future against all potential threats from outside of the party”.

 

The two party members, who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the topic, said that the bill was initially inspired by the idea of increasing the authority of the Agency for Pancasila Ideology Education (BPIP), which is led by Megawati, by turning it into a ministerial-level institution. The proposal was made by party executive Ahmad Basarah, who is considered a Puan loyalist.

 

Basarah is also deputy chairman of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), which oversees the implementation of Pancasila as the state ideology, and leads the party’s faction at the MPR.

 

According to the sources, the proposal was seized upon by Prananda and his faction, who prepared a draft bill that excluded Basarah from the process.

 

The resulting bill was “unexpectedly disappointing” because it elicited controversy and sparked strong opposition from conservative groups as a result of its failure to mention the 1966 Temporary MPR Decree (TAP MPRS), which banned the PKI, alongside the ideologies of communism, Marxism and Leninism, one source said.

 

Following a contentious House plenary session last month where PDI-P politicians sparred with lawmakers from Islam-based political parties, the Jokowi administration halted the deliberation of the HIP bill.

 

Muslim organizations, including Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, along with the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), have led the campaign to stop the House from deliberating the HIP bill, which they fear could lead to the reemergence of communism in the country.

 

The bill includes provisions that interpret and combine the five principles of Pancasila into a single pillar, which has drawn wide criticism for eliminating the first principle of Pancasila: the belief in one God.

 

Prananda’s faction secured control over the deliberation process in the House Legislation Body (Baleg), which was until recently cochaired by party executive Rieke Dyah Pitaloka, the sources said.

 

The bill faced strong opposition from Muslim conservatives, which led other members of the ruling coalition to turn their backs on the PDI-P, they said.

 

Rieke, who is known as a close friend of Prananda, has been replaced as of Wednesday as Baleg deputy chairwoman by fellow PDI-P politician M. Nurdin, a retired three-star police general.

 

Speaking to the Post, PDI-P House faction secretary Bambang Wuryanto denied that replacing Rieke had anything to do with the controversy surrounding the HIP bill.

 

Bambang, who is regarded in the party ranks as a “godfather” to Puan, argued that the replacement was necessary to ensure the smooth deliberation of the omnibus bill on job creation, another bill that has sparked controversy.

 

“Pak Nurdin is a highly competent retired police general with comprehensive knowledge and years of experience dealing with legal matters. We need his knowledge and expertise to safeguard the deliberation of the omnibus bill with all its legal complexities,” Bambang explained.

 

“This bill is on President Jokowi’s priority agenda, which we fully support.”

 

When asked about the fate of the HIP bill and the controversy surrounding it, Bambang said the party had agreed to entrust Basarah with the task of taking over the bill’s deliberation because of his comprehensive knowledge of Pancasila.

 

“Basarah did a PhD on Pancasila as an ideology. It’s best to let him lead the discussion in the public space, especially as he is also the leader of the faction at the MPR. He is the expert,” Bambang said.