The petition, if granted, could jeopardize the candidacy of former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan, the presidential nominee of the Coalition for Change and Unity, the 2024 electoral alliance to which the Democratic Party belongs.  

Moeldoko, who is not a member of the party, is seeking to overturn a Supreme Court ruling that rejected his earlier petition to annul the Law and Human Right Ministry’s refusal to ratify the results of a Democratic Party extraordinary congress that had elected him the party chairman, Agus said at a press conference on Monday.

Agus was referring to a congress organized by internal party opposition in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra, in April 2021, during which Moeldoko proclaimed himself the party chair with the support of the breakaway members.

“A month ago, on March 3, 2023, to be precise, we received information that Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko and veterinarian Jhoni Allen Marbun carried out another attempt to take over the Democratic Party after the fake and illegal extraordinary congress that failed miserably in 2021," Agus said. "This time they filed a case review petition to be processed by the Supreme Court.”

Agus said the party was ready for another legal battle with Moeldoko, with former Constitutional Court chief justice Hamdan Zoelva serving as the legal representative of Agus’ side.

“[On Monday], our legal team officially submitted a counterargument, or a response to the petition. Rest assured that the Democratic Party is in the winning camp,” he said.

The party slammed the petition as an “irrelevant” move by Moeldoko’s faction after the challengers had been handed more than a dozen court defeats.

“[We] have won 16 times against lawsuits launched by Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko and his colleagues. I repeat, it has been 16 times. Therefore, from the legal perspective and based on common sense, there is no loophole or way for Moeldoko to win the judicial review," Agus said.

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Thwarting Anies?

Agus’ faction alleged that the new legal challenge was part of a plot to undermine Anies’ bid for the presidency in 2024.

“Of course, one way to do it is by taking over the Democratic Party. By far, [we] have been one of the forces of change," said Agus, referring to his party’s membership in the pro-Anies electoral alliance.

"If this is true, that there is political intervention behind Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko's maneuvers, then justice, law and democracy in our beloved Indonesia are in danger,” Agus warned.

In a statement received by The Jakarta Post, Saiful Huda, a spokesperson for Moeldoko’s camp, denied Agus’ allegation and claimed the petition was a response to problematic internal Democratic Party matters.

“To completely reform the Democratic Party and to clear it of politicians who serve [party chief patron Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono] has been the focus of our hard work since our Democratic Party extraordinary congress was held,” Huda said.

“The Democratic Party has been in the abyss for decades because of the actions of several family members who have forcibly and blindly tried to control the Democratic Party by controlling all the party’s top leadership […] without the knowledge of Democratic Party congress officials and participants,” he added.

“So what we see now is the Democratic Party, which at first was full of accomplished and professional politicians, becoming weak and powerless,” he said.

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Anas anxiety

Huda accused Agus of being nervous that former Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum, who has vowed to unearth what he claims was the large-scale corruption that led to Agus’ father, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), taking the helm of the party, is set to be released from prison sometime this month.

“This will certainly give the most beautiful touch to the existence of a Democratic Party led by […] Moeldoko and will have […] a devastating impact on politicians from [Agus’] camp, who have been serving SBY, who have been idolizing his political dynasty and tyranny,” Huda said. “Anas Urbaningrum will soon be released and join Moeldoko. The cowboys of the Cikeas politicians will run and hide behind their own thin and fragile shields of falseness,” Huda said. Cikeas is the West Java town where the Yudhoyono family resides.

Anas Urbaningrum will reportedly be released from prison sometime this month after serving 8 years at Sukamiskin Prison in Bandung, West Java, for corruption.

In 2014, Anas was found guilty of money laundering and other financial crimes related to several state projects, including the construction of the Hambalang sports complex in Bogor, West Java. As restitution, the former Democratic Party chairman was made to pay Rp 57 billion (US$5.3 million) on top of his prison sentence.

Anas loyalists claim the case against him was engineered by his enemies within the Democratic Party. (ahw)