Hendry Ch Bangun And Zulmansyah Agree To Hold The PWI Unity Congress No Later Than August 2025

JAKARTA The conflict in the management of the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) finally found a bright spot. The two main characters who have been fighting, Hendry Ch Bangun and Zulmansyah Sekedang, agreed to hold the PWI Unity Congress in Jakarta no later than August 30, 2025.

The agreement was reached at an intensive meeting on Friday night, May 16, 2025, at a cafe in the South Jakarta area. The meeting was mediated by a member of the Press Council, Dahlan Dahi, and closed with the signing of an official joint document called the Jakarta Agreement.

Hendry Ch Bangun is the General Chair of the PWI from the XXV Congress in Bandung on September 27, 2023. He is the only mandate holder recognized by the state through the Decree of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights No AHU-0000258.AH.01.08 of 2024, the only legal official decree.

However, on August 18, 2024, an Extraordinary Congress (KLB) emerged which appointed Zulmansyah Sekedang as chairman by acclamation. Conflict was inevitable. Various mediation efforts were made but had not produced results until finally this important meeting took place.

"Everyone must look ahead with the spirit of unity," said Hendry. He emphasized that all PWI programs that were restrained due to the conflict had to run again immediately, especially increasing competence for more than 30,000 members in 39 provinces.

Zulmansyah also appreciated the reaching of the agreement. This is history for PWI. Hopefully PWI will get back together and unite, according to the name of the organization: Indonesian Journalists Association," he said.

Fill In The Jakarta Agreement

Negotiations lasted four hours. Despite being colored by fierce debates, several times laughter was heard between Hendry and Zulmansyah. According to Dahlan, both of them still uphold the spirit of brotherhood and responsibility for the press world.

"Bang Hendry and Bang Zul are both firm. But both of them have the greatness of their souls and a sense of responsibility to save PWI," said Dahlan.

Documents of the Jakarta Agreement were signed by three parties: Hendry Ch Bangun, Zulmansyah Sekedang, and Dahlan Dahi. It stated that it was committed to resolving the PWI conflict through the United Congress in Jakarta before August 30, 2025.

The two sides agreed to form a joint committee, consisting of seven Steering Committees (SC) and 16 Organizing Committees (OC), each of which was proposed equal to Hendry and Zulmansyah.

Equally important, both parties also agreed on the right of every regular member of PWI to run for chairman. If there are administrative obstacles due to the previous conflict, then these obstacles will be removed through a mechanism agreed upon along with the spirit of brotherhood.

The undefined technical points will be completed before the congress is held. Both of them expressed their full commitment to making the upcoming congress the starting point for PWI's total recovery.

The Jakarta agreement marks concrete steps towards PWI reconciliation. In the midst of a divided situation that has hampered organizational work, an open attitude and willingness to dialogue from the two leaders into fresh air for the future of Indonesian press personnel.