Many high-profile names, among them women artists, are now in the Indonesian Parliament or DPR which also has another first – a woman as chairperson.
This is not the only first in Puan Maharani’s appointment. She is also the daughter of former President Megawati Sukarnoputri and the appointment further consolidates her family’s grip on Indonesian politics.
With this appointment, the family has now broken two records. Megawati was the first Indonesian woman President in the country’s turbulent political history. She was elected in 2001 and served until 2004.
Puan Maharani is a former coordinating minister of human and cultural development who is also an Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician.
Maharani is the first woman who is officially appointed as chairman of the Indonesian Parliament on a day which saw many other newbies with Instagram popularity.
We may thus consider the Indonesian Parliament as the first ‘Instagramers’ generation Parliament in the Asean.
On Inauguration Day last week, Maharani said she had to resign as the coordinating minister for human and cultural development to take up the Chairperson job.
Speaking on her appointment as the first woman to lead the DPR, she said, “What is certain is that this breaks the tradition.”
Indeed it does, since the tradition has always had a man leading the DPR in the last 74 years. She also believes this appointment will help inspire more Indonesian women to take up tougher and higher jobs.
Former President Megawati now chairs the PDI-P which is also the party of President Joko Widodo.
Puan Maharani’s rise to prominence in the DPR was strengthened by the fact the PDI-P is leading the government coalition, which has a 60% majority in parliament at the start of the new legislative term.
The DPR is one of the highest elected national legislative assemblies in Indonesia and was founded by President Ahmad Sukarno, who is the father of Megawati Sukarnoputri. / TISG
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