Jusuf Kalla Calls for Puan Maharani's Resignation from PDI-P  

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Vice President Jusuf Kalla has advised the Coordinating Minister for Human and Cultural Development Puan Maharani, to resign from her official post within the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) party structure. It is known that currently, Puan Maharani is still listed as the Central Executive Board's Head of Political and Institutional Relations for PDI-P.

Although there are no regulations that obliges ministers to resign from their party posts when they assume their ministerial posts, Kalla said that he hopes that all ministers have the conscience to dial down their party affiliations. "They need to be working for their respective ministries when they assume their posts - not their parties," said Kalla at his office on Monday, March 30, 2015.

According to Kalla, Puan needs to stick to her commitments that she made when she joined President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's Working Cabinet - which means that she needs to leave her strategic posts within the party structure. "She could stay as on the party's advisory board - but she should not have stayed as a head of the party's executive board," Kalla said.

Kalla also reiterated President Jokowi's request that his ministers should fully commit to their respective posts, as opposed to their parties - a request which President Jokowi made when he chose those individuals to fill in the ministerial posts in his Working Cabinet.

However, another Head of PDI-P's Central Executive Board, Trimedya Panjaitan, said that as Puan Maharani is a direct descendant of President Soekarno, she deserves to have a strategic position in the PDI-P. Trimedya said that PDI-P members still respects her ideas and needs her opinions on certain matters. "Even a Blackberry Messenger (BBM) message from someone of her calibre means something to us," Trimedya said.

Trimedya continued that Puan is an integral part of the Megawati's plan to rejuvenate and revitalize PDI-P's structure - and her role is even more important after Taufik Kiemas' passing, as Megawati needs someone close whom she could freely exchange her ideas with. "We believe Puan is the appropriate choice to continue's Megawati's struggle in the coming future," Trimedya said.

REZA ADITYA | MUHAMMAD MUHYIDDIN