The Java-Non Java Duet Could Be A PPP Option At The Congress

JAKARTA UIN political observer Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, Zaki Mubarak assessed that the names of the general chairman candidates that appeared ahead of the PPP Congress had not promised and did not have a strong Muslim voter social base.

As is known, the Chairperson of the PPP Advisory Council, Romahurmuziy, said that there were already 8 candidates for the PPP caketum. From internal, there are the names Sandiaga Uno, Arwani Thomafi, and Taj Yasin Maimoen or Gus Yasin. From external, there is the name of Social Minister Saifullah Yusuf (Gus Ipul), adviser to the president of national defense affairs Dudung Abdurachman, Minister of Agriculture Amran Sulaiman and former Trade Minister Agus Suparmanto.

Currently, PPP is led by Muhammad Mardiono as the acting chairman (plt). Mardiono is considered a failure after PPP did not pass the parliamentary threshold which resulted in no of their cadres occupying the seat of the DPR RI.

According to Zaki, from the names mentioned by Romy, maybe only Gus Ipul has the potential to revive PPP from adversity. The reason is, apart from serving as Social Minister, Gus Ipul is currently also serving as Secretary General of PBNU.

After all, PPP constituents are Muslim voters. That's what needs to be maximized. Popular and rich figures like Sandiaga Uno alone proved ineffective. Instead of raising his voice, it was degraded," he said, Sunday, May 25, 2025.

Figure Dudung, continued Zaki, is also not suitable to occupy the chair of general chairman because he has no experience as a politician and is close to the Muslim voter base. Likewise with Amran Sulaiman and Agus Suparmanto who are considered not to have a strong political magnet.

He revealed that in the future, the Head of PPP must be able to boost the votes of Javanese and outside Javanese voters. Figures such as Gus Ipul are considered to have a strong grassroots network and already have a long political track record at the national political level.

If indeed elected, Gus Ipul can be duetted with Amran Sulaiman as secretary general. Thus, Gus Ipul represented Java, while Amran represented outside Java which is also known to come from businessmen who have strong logistics'.

"The reputation is also quite good. The character is also quite good. The two figures are quite competitive and I think they are able to save PPP from a long slump. PPP's dignity needs to be returned as the top Islamic political party and therefore needs leadership that has strong socio-political capital," explained Zaki.

Finally, he also stated that the Head of PPP must be the person approved by the Palace. PPP requires logistical support from power to build a party to remain solid and ready to fight in the 2029 election.

PPP needs a general chairman who can bring the party to be able to face tough challenges in the midst of increasingly liberal competition. The new general chairman must be able to re-knit old PPP forces and embrace new powers to expand his voter base," concluded Zaki.