Minister Of Health Denies Supporting Kubu Agung Laksono In The Middle Of PMI DualismHealth Minister denies supporting Agung Laksono's camp amid PMI Dualism

JAKARTA - Minister of Health (Menkes) Budi Gunadi Sadikin dismissed accusations that he supported Agung Laksono's camp in the dualism of the management of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI).

"There is no interference with organizational affairs outside the Ministry of Health," said the Minister of Health as quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, December 10.

According to Budi, PMI is a partner of the Ministry of Health and has its own organizational rules that must be respected in every internal decision making of the organization.

When asked if he gave a recommendation to the Agung Laksono camp, the Minister of Health denied it.

"Nothing, PMI is a partner of the Ministry of Health and has its own organizational rules that we respect," he said, dismissing the allegations.

Budi Gunadi also emphasized that the election of the General Chairperson of PMI is the right of the organization, not the Ministry of Health.

"We leave it to PMI. The one who chooses is also not the minister, the one who chooses is the PMI regional heads," he added.

This statement also answers speculation that mentions the involvement of the Ministry of Health in internal PMI conflicts involving the Jusuf Kalla and Agung Laksono camps.

PMI's 22nd National Conference on December 8, 2024 sparked conflict. In the official National Conference, Jusuf Kalla was re-elected as the General Chair of PMI for the 2024-2029 period with the support of 490 participants from 34 PMI provinces and national volunteer forums.

The chairman of the Plenary Session, Adang Rocjana, expressed his full support for Jusuf Kalla. However, the Agung Laksono camp rejected the results, held a counter-match, and claimed to have 254 votes in support.

They accused the National Conference of being full of irregularities, limiting aspirations, and forcing Jusuf Kalla's leadership.

In the counter, Agung Laksono was appointed as General Chair, accompanied by Muhammad Muas and Ulla Nurchawaty, and plans to register the results with the Ministry of Law.

Jusuf Kalla denounced this act as illegal and reported it to the police, calling it a betrayal that harms PMI. On the other hand, Agung Laksono considers this issue only an organizational problem for the sake of improving PMI.