Labour Party Secretary General Ferri Nuzarli Resigns, Citing Fundamental Differences in Direction

Jakarta - Secretary General of the Labour Party Ferri Nuzarli has resigned along with approximately 1.3 million members and officials of the Organisasi Rakyat Indonesia (ORI) due to differences of opinion regarding the party’s direction. Ferri stated during a press conference in Jakarta on Friday that the decision was made after lengthy consideration and evaluation. “This decision was not an easy one. However, after various considerations and evaluations, we see that there are increasingly fundamental differences in views, attitudes, and the direction of the struggle,” Ferri said in a written statement. He explained that ORI is the political wing of the Confederation of All-Indonesian Workers’ Unions (KSPSI) Andi Gani, founded in 2013, and was one of the 11 initiating organisations for the establishment of the Labour Party at its first congress in October 2021. “With full awareness and responsibility, ORI, which has around 1.3 million members, has decided to resign effective Friday,” he said. Ferri emphasised that the resignation was carried out amicably and that fraternal relations with the Labour Party would be maintained. He also instructed all ORI officials holding structural positions within the Labour Party at the central, provincial, district/city, and sub-district levels to immediately submit administrative resignation letters. “Today we instruct all ranks of ORI and KSPSI Andi Gani who serve as Labour Party officials to immediately prepare resignation letters as an administrative requirement,” he said. He likened ORI’s relationship with the Labour Party to a household facing prolonged problems, where various attempts at a family-like resolution had failed to yield results. “We have actually been trying to resolve internal issues amicably for a long time, but the problems kept mounting until finally, based on evaluations and input from all regions, we decided that this is enough,” he said. Regarding the impact of the resignation on the Labour Party, Ferri claimed that ORI together with KSPSI were the largest initiating organisations within the party. “If you ask what percentage of influence this has, well, automatically it is half,” Ferri said. He also mentioned that Labour Party President Said Iqbal had been informed of the resignation plan on Thursday evening.