Puan's Leadership At The RI-Pacific Parliament Forum Becomes An Inspiration For Women In Politics

JAKARTA - The leadership of the Chairman of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, at the 2nd session of the Indonesia-Pacific Parliamentary Partnership (IPPP) which was held in Jakarta received praise. The delegation of the RI-Pacific Parliament Forum assessed that Puan could be an example and inspiration for women in the struggle in the political field.

When opening the 2nd IPPP Session yesterday, Puan mentioned the issue of women's empowerment for inclusive development in the Pacific. Puan assessed that this could be done by increasing women's participation in the world of politics, and holding public positions.

"I think that's the right thing to talk about by a woman in parliament because in our country of origin the involvement of women in parliament is not much," said one of the IPPP 2nd Session delegates, GloriaGuttenbeil Poleo from Tonga Parliament at the event location, Fairmont Jakarta, Friday 26 July.

Tonga's parliament itself is said to have only one female member. Gloria said that hearing Puan's message regarding gender equality in politics has made the spirit for women to participate in politics.

"He is an inspiration because he can become a national leader. Women's leaders such as Madam Puan make a better contribution to the community in terms of socio-economics and other issues that have an impact," he explained.

"It can open up our hopes to become future officers. We see him as the Speaker of the DPR providing inspiration for many women so that he can become like him," added Gloria.

The messages that Puan conveyed at the 2nd Session of the IPPP were also said to have made the parliament of Pacific countries learn about the challenges facing the world today. Gloria said that the issues that Puan raised were indeed what happened in the Pacific region.

"The issue makes our views open and it is similar to what happened to us so that we can learn and help each other to overcome these challenges," he said.

On several occasions at the 2nd IPPP Session, Puan stated that Indonesia and Pacific countries have similarities as archipelagic countries surrounded by waters and oceans, including similarities in values.

As an archipelagic country, Indonesia and Pacific countries are considered to face the same challenges as the threat of climate change, disaster, and challenges in marine and water management.

This similarity, said Puan, can be a capital for better relationship development in the future with a focus on working together on issues that are of common interest.

In this case, according to Puan, the foundation of the strong relationship between Indonesia and Pacific countries is a relationship based on the principle of equality, mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial unity, and peaceful coexistence.

Puan also emphasized that all countries involved in this IPPP have the same place and can stand equally high, and both comply with international laws and UN charters.

For this reason, Puan invites Pacific countries as a big family to work together in building mutual trust (trust), and mutual understanding in order to create peace and stability in the region. He also believes that IPPP can complement the regional architecture (regional architecture) of cooperation in the Pacific, which prioritizes open and inclusive partnerships.

Gloria also considers the IPPP Session to be an extraordinary experience for Tonga because it can open a more comprehensive perspective on various world challenges.

"We can make Indonesia a partner, not only in terms of national development but also in terms of many Indonesian demographics," said Gloria.

The IPPP Session is an initiative of the DPR to strengthen partnerships in the Pacific region where the first meeting was held in 2018. Gloria stated that Tonga learned a lot from this event.

"I think this event opens up our insights as a small country in the Pacific, because in our opinion Indonesia is a big country with a large population, we have nothing to do with Indonesia," he said.

"We are still left behind with other small Pacific countries in terms of economic development and economic development," added Gloria.

Gloria admitted that she and the Tongan parliamentary delegates were very happy to receive an invitation from the DPR for the IPPP Session.

From the first time we arrived, we felt very accepted and did not expect that it would be welcomed so well. We appreciate the hospitality of the Indonesian people," he said.

Even Gloria stated that it seemed like she was at home alone, and actually wanted to stay longer in Indonesia. He also assessed that the House of Representatives' hosting of the delegates was very good.

"This forum is implemented very perfectly, everything is very good and professional and I congratulate you because the implementation is extraordinary," said Gloria.

Earlier in the opening of the 2nd IPPP Session, Thursday (25/7), Puan stated that the DPR is ready to share the best experiences, knowledge, and practices with the Parliament of Pacific countries. Especially regarding the function of parliament, namely legislation, budget and supervision. DPR is also said to be ready to help develop the blue economy, connectivity in the Pacific region, and overcome the impact of climate change. Regarding inclusive development in the Pacific, I encourage women's empowerment in the Pacific. This can be done by increasing women's participation in politics, and to hold public office," said Puan.

At the closing of the event, Puan said that the issue of gender equality was also a discussion in various discussion sessions at the 2nd IPPP Session.

"The discussion that is being discussed is how we encourage capacity building related to gender equality and women's empowerment in areas in the Pacific," explained the first woman to serve as Chair of the DPR RI.