The PSI has positioned itself as a new movement in Indonesia’s political landscape as the party of the young and of those who have not yet been corrupted by traditional Indonesian politics.

The party promotes pluralism, social justice, human rights and nationalism. It has a strong stance against government interference into private life and individual freedom.

Origins

During an exclusive interview with The Jakarta Post back in 2015, the PSI’s first chairwoman, Grace Natalie, a former journalist, said that the party could trace its origins to a conversation at a café in Bilangan, South Jakarta. 

This gathering was attended by Grace, Muhammadiyah youth activist Raja Juli Antoni, former television presenter Isyana Bagoes Oka and two other young individuals. 

The meeting was spurred by the phenomenon of Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s success during the 2014 Presidential Election. During this meeting, they discussed how Jokowi’s success proved that one does not need to come from a political dynasty to lead Indonesia. They recognized an urgent need for political party reform and eventually decided to establish a party of their own. 

The party was officially founded on Nov. 16, 2014, and on the same day, the Central Leadership Council of PSI (DPP PSI) formally submitted its registration letter as a political party. Subsequently, the Law and Human Rights Ministry officially requested that DPP PSI fulfill the requirements for the formation of a political party as per Law No. 2 of 2011 regarding Political Parties.

All PSI members at every level of leadership then completed the necessary requirements to ensure PSI's eligibility for the Law and Human Rights Ministry’s verification process, which was expected to take place around mid-2016. 

Eventually, on Oct. 7, 2016, PSI was officially recognized as a legal entity after passing the ministry’s verification process. It became the only new party to achieve legal status after the 2014 presidential election.

Fighting for House seats in 2019

After officially being declared a participant in the 2019 General Election, the PSI made a breakthrough in the selection of legislative candidates. 

The selection process for legislative candidates was conducted transparently and openly, and was broadcast live on all of the PSI's social media platforms. The goal was to allow the public to assess and evaluate the candidates who would represent them in the national and regional legislative councils.

A notable achievement was that 45 percent of the PSI's legislative candidates in the 2019 General Election were women, the highest among all parties and surpassing the minimum 30 percent requirement for female representation. The PSI did not set a specific target for the number of female candidates; the key was to exceed the 30 percent threshold stipulated by the law.

Unfortunately, despite the efforts, the PSI failed to secure a seat in the House of Representatives (DPR). The party, however, managed to secure seats on regional legislative councils (DPRD).

A beacon for change

The PSI continued to bring innovations to Indonesia's political landscape by providing more avenues for young people to get involved in politics. The party became a refreshing beacon for change.

For example, to improve the democratic system, the PSI organized conventions to select candidates for regional leaders. In the 2020 regional elections, the PSI held conventions for Surabaya and South Tangerang, as they had one faction in each city council. 

In this open selection process, the PSI invited independent and reputable figures to be part of the selection committee. The interviews during the selection were broadcast live on social media.

The young and restless submit to the old guard

The PSI’s foray into being a progressive and wall-breaking political vehicle has taken a major hit in the last couple of years.

A unique and somewhat ironic development occurred on March 1, 2023, when elements of the Berkarya Party, led by its former secretary-general, Badaruddin Andi Picunang, joined the PSI. This merger occurred because the Berkarya Party failed to participate in the 2024 General Election and experienced prolonged internal conflict. 

The merger of the Berkarya Party with the PSI was unique and somewhat ironic because Berkarya was founded on a Soehartoist and New Order Revivalist platform, which contradicts the PSI’s more progressive position.

Jokowi’s clan takeover

While the PSI has always been known as a strong supporter of Jokowi and his administration, the party had always managed to keep its distance from the executives and had been known to take a critical stance toward government policies that were not in line with their values and ideologies.

However, with the 2024 general election approaching and the party in need of a boost to improve its chances of securing House seats after the 2019 failure, a surprising twist took place in the party’s leadership.

In September 2023, the PSI appointed Jokowi’s youngest son, Kaesang Pangarep, as its chairman, just two days after he officially joined the party as a cadre.

From idealism to cheap pragmatism

Following Kaesang’s appointment as party chairman, the PSI has become more and more pragmatic in its political stance.

In October 2023, the PSI officially declared that it supported Prabowo Subianto, Jokowi’s rival in 2019 and to whom the party had previously given a mock award called the Kebohongan Award (Hoax Award) for the 2024 presidential election.

This support for Prabowo is hardly a surprise as his running mate is Kaesang’s older brother, Gibran Raka Buming.

But what the PSI has done so far in the context of politics has shown how far it has fallen from a symbol of idealism and hope to a mere pragmatic political power broker, like other parties.

The PSI does not have a single seat in the House, therefore, there is no record of their stance on key national policies.

So far, no PSI members, including those that hold seats in regional legislative councils, have been involved in corruption.