TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Hutomo Mandala Putra, known as Tommy Suharto, reminds the public of his father`s power in Indonesian politics. After failing to advance in his old party, he established a new one. Where one political party fell, others have sprung up.
The most recent party that he has helped established is the Berkarya Party, which has passed verification by the General Elections Commission (KPU) to run in next year's general election. Tommy is chair of the party's advisory board. "Pak Tommy is the party’s icon," said Berkarya Secretary-General Badaruddin Andi Picunang last week.
Tommy, 55, entered politics after leaving Nusakambangan Prison in 2006. Through his lawyer, Erwin Kallo, Tommy answered Tempo’s question as to what is his motivating ambition to achieve power through a political party. "It is only through a political party can we be more effective channeling the public’s aspirations," he said last week.
In 2002, Tommy was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for illegal arms possession and masterminding the murder of Supreme Court judge Syafiuddin Kartasasmita. The sentence was reduced several times down to four years. Tommy had Syafiuddin killed because he did not accept the guilty verdict and compensation of Rp30 billion in the Goro Batara Sakti and State Logistics Agency (Bulog) corruption case in 1994.
Read: New Parties Same Old Faces
and: Cendana Returns Longing for The Suharto Days
Initially, Tommy was in the Golkar Party, the party that supported his father’s reign for 32 years. Tommy once competed to become Golkar general chair, in the Golkar National Convention in 2009 in Riau, running against Aburizal Bakrie, Surya Paloh, and Yuddy Chrisnandi. No one voted for him, and Aburizal Bakrie was chosen to lead the party.
He again ran for Golkar general chair in the party’s national convention in Bali in 2016, but he missed the deadline for registration. Tommy then gave his support to Ade Komarudin, who was defeated by Setya Novanto. "The family decided to support Ade," he said at the time.
After the national convention in Bali, Tommy was tied to a group of people preparing an insurrection against Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s administration because among those arrested on the charge of sedition was Firza Husein, chair of the Cendana Solidarity Foundation. Cendana is the Suharto family’s street address in Central Jakarta.
The police also accused Firza of disseminating pornographic content when her private text interaction with the leader of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), Rizieq Syihab, leaked out to the public. Tommy and Firza also have a connection through the All-Indonesia Preachers Coordination Agency (Bakomubin). Tommy is chair of Bakomubin’s advisory board, while Firza is its public service chair. "It’s not true that he’s on the advisory board," said Erwin Kallo.
Amid the sedition affair, the Voice of Indonesian People’s Party (Parsindo) named Tommy its presidential candidate for 2019. Parsindo General Chair Jusuf Rizal said their party is supporting Tommy because they want to continue developments made in the Suharto era. This can be done, he said, if Indonesia is led by Tommy.
Read the full article in this week's edition of Tempo English Magazine
