Jokowi's Post-Presidency Moves Sharpen Political Tensions Between PSI and PDIP

As anticipated, the political movements of former President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) continue to fuel public discussion. His inaugural political safari to Lampung has particularly sharpened the exchange of comments between the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP). One event that drew significant public attention was Jokowi’s participation in a ceremony to bestow a traditional title, or ‘muakhi’, upon him according to Lampung customs. PDIP spokesperson Guntur Romli questioned the nature of the ceremony, asking whether it was a genuine cultural practice, an expression of arrogance, or a political symbol of degradation. Romli suggested that Jokowi’s supporters were hallucinating if they thought the animal head being stepped on during the ritual was a bull, the symbol of PDIP. ‘Pendukung Jokowi sedang berhalusinasi yang diinjak itu kepala banteng, padahal kerbau,’ Romli was quoted as saying. Andreas Hugo Pareira, a senior PDIP official, also criticized the event, stating it was inappropriate for a figure seen as a national unifier to be crowned as a local king or tribal chief. He argued that the public would be prouder if a former president received an academic title from a foreign institution, suggesting Jokowi’s activities remained too local and questioning if he was still seeking political support. In contrast, PDIP Chairperson Puan Maharani took a more measured stance, stating that political safaris are the right of every citizen. PSI elite Bestari Barus responded to the PDIP criticism by advising the party to stop making negative comments about Jokowi and instead focus on its own internal issues, mocking its ambiguous position as sometimes in the opposition and sometimes not.