Democratic Party in Yudhoyono Dynasty’s Grip
Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono is sitting at the Democratic Party’s throne after he was elected the party’s new chairman by acclamation in the party’s fifth congress in Jakarta.
Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono is sitting at the Democratic Party’s throne after he was elected the party’s new chairman by acclamation in the party’s fifth congress in Jakarta.
Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono was elected the party’s new chairman by acclamation in the party’s fifth congress in Jakarta. Agus replaces his father Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who had led the party since 2013. As the party’s chief executive, Agus is tasked with restoring its reputation, which has been on a steady decline since 2014.
Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, popularly known as AHY, is not a stranger to national politics. As the first-born of Indonesia’s sixth president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), AHY has always ridden on his father’s popularity as head of state.
Since his first emergence in the public sphere, AHY has been known as a successful young military figure. A string of successes in several military operations has given AHY, the husband of Annisa Pohan, wide opportunities to reach higher plateaus in politics.
He was seemingly destined for a shining military career, considering that he hailed from a family with strong military ties. His father SBY is a successful Army figure. Among the many positions SBY held was II/Sriwijaya Military Commander in 1997 and the Army’s territorial chief of staffs with the rank of lieutenant general. SBY retired from the military in 2001 when he was appointed state minister.
Meanwhile, from his mother, the late Kristiani Herawati, AHY inherited a military legacy from his grandfather Sarwo Edhie Wibowo, a famed military leader who led the operation to eradicate the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) in 1965. At the time, AHY’s grandfather led the Army’s Special Forces (RPKAD) with the rank of colonel.
The RPKAD was an elite force in the Army and is today known as the Kopassus. Sarwo Edhie also held strategic positions, namely as II/Bukit Barisan Military Commander (1967-1968) and XVII/Cendrawasih Military Commander (1968-1970). After he retired from the military, the government appointed him as military academy governor.
AHY is seemingly destined for a rapid rise in the Army and follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. AHY’s closeness to the military could be seen since he chose to enroll at the Taruna Nusantara high school in Magelang, Central Java, in 1997.
AHY’s military career path became clearer after he continued his studies at the Magelang Military Academy (Akmil). After graduating from Akmil, AHY was involved in a series of military trainings to hone his skills. In 2001, AHY joined the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), another one of the Army’s elite forces.
His proficiency in military sciences gave him plenty of opportunity to take military courses in other countries. AHY, who was born in Bandung, West Java, 42 years ago, began his career as a military officer in 2013, namely as a middle-ranking officer at the military headquarter.
In 2015, AHY was appointed as 203/Arya Kemuning mechanical infantery battalion commander. This was AHY’s last position in his 16-year Army career. His highest rank was mayor, before he retired and went into politics.
PoliticsAgus Harimurti Yudhoyono had never thought to enter politics, a truly strange world for him. It is a strange world, as his family is dominated by military figures rather than politicians.
Indeed, his family is more famed as a military family rather than a political dynasty. Physically, AHY also suits that of a military officer. Where does his get the idea of abruptly ending his shining military career and making the switch to politics?
AHY’s official debut in politics was in the 2017 Jakarta Gubernatorial Election. AHY’s name was announced to widespread surprise as a gubernatorial candidate supported by the Democratic Party in coalition with the United Development Party (PPP), the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the National Mandate Party (PAN).
Ahead of the gubernatorial election, the Democratic did not give any clear intention of proposing its own candidate. Rumors that AHY would run was swiftly quelled as AHY had a promising future in the military and he was seen as a “the odd one out” in the political contestation.
No one expected SBY to propose his own son to compete with Basuki Tjahaja Purnama and Anies Baswedan as a third candidate. This was because the move was seen as endangering his son’s Army career, a risk many thought SBY would not dare to take.
However, SBY seemingly had a different political calculation in mind. Within months, he successfully lobbied PPP, PKB and PAN to build a coalition with his party to enable him to propose an alternative gubernatorial candidate.
On 22 Sept. 2016, the Democratic Party officially submitted AHY’s name as Jakarta gubernatorial candidate. The party picked Jakarta’s then-deputy governor for tourism and culture, Sylviana Murni, as AHY’s running mate.
For AHY, his appointment as gubernatorial candidate was a totally new experience for him with the risk of leaving behind the military – a world that he has known since 2000.
The declaration marked the birth of a new rising star in the Democratic Party, initiated by the party chairman who is none other than AHY’s father. For AHY, his appointment as gubernatorial candidate was a totally new experience for him with the risk of leaving behind the military – a world that he has known since 2000.
As a newcomer in Jakarta leadership contest, AHY’s skills to debate and build discourses on Jakarta’s problems seemed too shallow compared with his two competitors, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama and Anies Baswedan. His poor knowledge can be plainly seen both in debates and battle of discourses in the media.
AHY was mostly backed by his running mate Sylviana Murni, a Jakarta bureaucrat, for his views and plans for the city. Other than her, he also has support from his campaign team.
AHY was eventually defeated in the first round of the election. Many believed that this was due to his minimal knowledge and experience. His name was then drowned by the city’s chaotic politics ahead of the election’s runoff.
To prevent the public from entirely forgetting AHY’s name, the Democratic Party entrusted him a highly strategic position in the 2018 regional elections and 2019 general election. The Democratic Party chairman appointed AHY as head of the party’s joint election command (Kogasma) soon after his defeat in Jakarta.
SBY’s direct appointment of AHY as Kogasma head led many to suspect that SBY was grooming his oldest son to replace him in the Democratic Party and even set him on the path towards the presidency.
It was through Kogasma that AHY has gained higher popularity, in line with the party promoting his name nationwide. Soon, AHY’s name was included in survey agencies’ polls of presidential candidates. AHY was often given the chance in open forums to hone his public speaking skills in order to boost his popularity and electability.
AHY’s performance through Kogasma was deemed to have successfully catapulted his fame. His electability is slowly boosted. Despite still in a less strategic position, AHY has better opportunity today to be chosen as presidential or VP candidate.
AHY’s name was among those considered by several parties as potential figures in the 2019 election. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has even showed his appreciation for AHY by inviting him to discuss about national matters.
Most political parties, except for the Democratic Party, supported either one of these two pairs.
Understandably, the Democratic Party felt confident to propose AHY, considered among the party’s best-known members, as either presidential or VP candidate in the 2019 election. Unfortunately, after a fierce competition for candidacy, only two pairs emerged: Jokowi-Ma’ruf Amin and Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno. Most political parties, except for the Democratic Party, supported either one of these two pairs.
After the 2019 presidential election, in which Jokowi and Ma’ruf was elected as president and VP, Jokowi seemingly did not trust him enough to appoint him in his cabinet. As the Democratic Party is sidelined in national politics, AHY’s fame waned.
Hard work
The 2024 election is still four years away. This gives AHY ample time to build his influence if he can attain a higher political stage and gain bigger authority. That stage is none other than the chairmanship of the Democratic Party.
AHY has to lead the Democratic Party by relying on his increasingly sharp political instinct. This will be a good start towards his eventual candidacy either as president or VP. SBY has said that he believed the Democratic Party will still have power in the next five years, even if its fame has somewhat diminished.
During his chairmanship, AHY must hone his skill to build his party’s political position as SBY did when he won the 2004 and 2009 presidential elections.
The Democratic Party’s fifth congress at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) on 15 March 2020 was the last forum for SBY as party chairman. SBY’s statement that leaders borne out of the Democratic Party would stay with the party and help it grow was a sign that he would remain the party’s central figure.
Hard work awaits AHY, namely to restore his party’s fame after it plummeted when his father’s second term as president ended.
Hard work awaits AHY, namely to restore his party’s fame after it plummeted when his father’s second term as president ended. AHY’s biggest challenge will be to boost the party’s election performance after it plunged in the last two general elections.
The next challenge is to make the party firmer in responding to political situations. AHY must be able to prove to the public that he will have a different leadership style than his father. This is because the Democratic Party has always been identical to SBY. Even has SBY’s son, AHY must be able to get the party out of SBY’s shadow.
Among the impacts of SBY’s leadership style was when the party chose to remain neutral in the lead-up to the 2019 general election. This did not result in significant electoral boost for the party. Instead of increasing the number of votes, the party ended up having the lowest number of votes since 2009.
In the 2019 election, the Democratic Party gained 10,876,057 votes (7.77 percent). At the House of Representatives, the party got 54 seats of 9.39 percent of the 575 available seats. The party’s election performance, both form the number of votes and House seats, has been on a steady decline in the 2009, 2014 and 2019 elections.
At the time, the party only gained 12,728,913 votes (10.2 percent). The party’s house seats plummeted from 148 to 61 (10.89 percent).
The party’s plummeting election performance was in line with the diminishing fame of SBY, the party’s founder and central figure. The party’s declining popularity could be seen in the 2014 election, when SBY ended his second term as president. At the time, the party only gained 12,728,913 votes (10.2 percent). The party’s house seats plummeted from 148 to 61 (10.89 percent).
The party’s declining fame could also be seen in the 2009 election, when SBY, a former Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister, won his reelection. During his second term, SBY’s fame waned, as mega-corruption cases involving Democratic Party elites and lawmakers were revealed.
The largest corruption case involving the Democratic Party, often seen as the symbol of the party’s fall, is the Hambalang sports center construction corruption case. The case, which made Democratic Party then-lawmaker Muhammad Nazarudin infamous, had far-reaching consequences for the party. One by one, high-ranking party officials were arrested as they were linked to the case. Ironically, the case emerged when SBY was at the peak of his fame.
A Kompas R&D survey on SBY’s leadership showed that public image on his leadership continuously decreased in the final months of his presidency.
As the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) put Democratic Party elite members behind bars one by one, public trust on SBY’s administration severely diminished. Widespread hate on the Democratic Party elites’ corruption hugely impacted SBY’s performance as president. A Kompas R&D survey on SBY’s leadership showed that public image on his leadership continuously decreased in the final months of his presidency.
The 2019 election was another proof of the party’s sluggish election performance. This reaffirms that the party is identical to SBY. When SBY’s fame rises, the party gets stronger. On the other hand, when
SBY’s fame wanes, the party suffers, too. The party’s declining number of votes in the 2014 and 2019 elections indicated that the Democratic Party must be able to get out of SBY’s shadow. (KOMPAS R&D)