The decision by Airlangga Hartarto to tender his resignation as chairman of Golkar Party on Saturday, August 10, 2024, and make it public on the following day has drawn widespread speculations of great pressure from both internal and external party for him to quit the post which he had served since December 2017.
A former Golkar politician, Indra Jaya Piliang, said the resignation of Golkar party chairman Airlangga Hartarto is more of a worst case scenario over a legal probem that may implicate him.
“As far as I know, Airlangga’s resignation was totally unexpected,” Indra told Indonesia Business Post on Monday, August 12, 2024.
He cited a legal case currently being investigated by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO). National media reported on July 24, 2024, that Airlangga, who is also Coordinating Minister for the Economy, is summoned by the AGO as a witness in an alleged corruption surrounding the issuance of export permit for crude palm oil (CPO) and its derivatives.
Indra, who is a close friend to Airlangga, said the legal case has led one or two candidates for the next Golkar Party leadership to make maneuvers to remove Airlangga from the position, including asking for the blessing of current President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and President-elect Prabowo Subianto.
“There is indeed an agenda for holding extraordinary congress of Golkar Party on August 20th. It would mean that the extraordinary congress will be opened by President Jokowi and closed by Vice President Maruf Amin. That’s always happened in Golkar Party National Conference,” he said.
Indra dismissed the speculation that Airlangga’s resignation was associated with his reluctance to accommodate the interest of the current president or that he can be a threat to Jokowi after power transfer in October.
“I do not think so. There must be bigger interest behind Airlangga’s resignation,” he said.
He said further that Airlangga’s resignation was of the interest of the people who will sit in the future State government, including the future affairs of Golkar Party.
Rumors were rife that Airlangga had been criticized for his lenient position in fighting for Golkar’s interest in winning the West Java’s gubernatorial election. Airlangga has reportedly allowed a candidate from other party, a member of the Onward Indonesia Coalition in which Golkar Party is also part of the coalition, to contest the West Java election and instead opting to assign Golkar’s strongest candidate for the West Java governorship − Ridwan Kamil − to contest the Jakarta gubernatorial election against Anies Baswedan, who is considered the strongest candidate for the Jakarta election.
Pressure from powerful force
Political Analyst from Pelita Harapan University Emrus Sihombing said the resignation of Airlangga amidst his success in bringing Golkar to win the second largest seats in the House of Representatives and thousands of seats at regional legislative councils in the 2024 elections is something logically impossible, unless there is certain powerful forces that compel him to resign.
“The Golkar Party National Conference is not that far away. Therefore, it is impossible for him to resign unless there is such powerful force behind it,” he said.
Emrus said he cannot mention the figures behind the powerful force, except Airlangga named them transparently on what happened to him. He cited Airlangga’s statement that he did not want to ruin the solidity of Golkar Party and would like to sacrifice himself for the sake of party’s unity.
“So, it means that there are certain powerful actors that force him to make the decision,” he added.
Deputy Golkar Party chairman, Ahmad Doli Kurnia, however, dismissed the speculation that Airlangga had been pressured to quit his Golkar leadership post.
Doli Kurnia, who claimed to be among the four Golkar Party officials summoned by Airlangga to listen to Airlangga’s account in person, said that the decision was of Airlangga’s personal decision in an attempt to maintain the party’s unity and upon listening to inputs from and securing his familiy members’ approval.
He added that Airlangga would like to focus on his job as Coordinating Minister for the Economy, including to ensure stability in the transition period from the current government to the next government.
Meanwhile, Golkar party politician Andi Sinulingga revealed that Investment Minister/Head of Investment Coordinating Board Bahlil Lahadalia has an opportunity to replace Airlangga as chairman at Golkar’s National Conference.
“The aspiration is like that (Bahlil becomes Golkar Chairman). And pak Airlangga also wishes so. This is the wish of all,” Andi said.
