23 January In History: The Birth Of Indonesia's First Woman President Megawati Soekarnoputi

Megawati and Soekarno (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - Today 74 years ago, or precisely January 23, 1947, the 5th President of the Republic of Indonesia (RI) Megawati Soekarnoputri was born in Yogyakarta.

The eldest daughter of the first President of the Republic of Indonesia, Soekarno, is so legendary, not only good at politics, but also inking history as the first female president that Indonesia has.

Launching the National Library page, the woman whose full name is Dyah Permata Megawati Sukarnoputri, studied from elementary to high school at Cikini College, Jakarta. He also studied at 2 different universities, the Faculty of Agriculture, Padjadjaran University, Bandung (1965-1967) and the Faculty of Psychology, University of Indonesia (1970-1972).

Despite being born from a top-notch political family, Mega was initially underestimated by friends and political opponents. To the point, he was only considered a qualified newcomer in the world of Indonesian politics in 1987.

However, the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) firmly believes in placing Mega as a legislative candidate from the Central Java electoral district. The reason is to raise the sound.

Megawati Soekarnoputri (Wikimedia Commons)

Mega then appeared as the main star of the PDI campaign, although he did not say much. As a result, the PDI vote rose and succeeded in bringing Mega to the seat of a DPR / MPR member.

For this reason, Megawati was also elected as Chairman of the PDI Central Jakarta Branch Leadership Council (DPC). However, Megawati's presence at the DPR / MPR building seemed imperceptible.

Mega understands that she is under pressure. So, Mega chose to do more political lobbying outside the people's representative building. It was the lobby that further emphasized that he was a political star in the country.

Senafas with that, in 1993 he was elected as the General Chair of the PDI DPP. This really shocked the New Order government (Orba) at that time. Also his fellow parties. Because of that, efforts to overthrow his power in the PDI were then carried out.

In fact, Mega is not an easy opponent to beat. The PDI Central Leadership Council (DPP) office on Jalan Diponegoro, as a symbol of the existence of a legitimate DPP, is controlled by Mega. Mega supporters do not want to take a single step back. They still try to maintain the office.

Soerjadi, Megawati's government-supported partner, threatened to forcibly seize the PDI DPP office. The threat then became a reality. In the morning, 27 July 1996, Soerjadi's group actually seized the PDI DPP office from Mega supporters. However, this did not deter Mega.

In fact, Mega was even more enthusiastic about raising resistance. The enormous political pressure on Megawati actually invited empathy and sympathy from the wider community.

Mega continues to struggle. PDI became two. Namely, PDI led by Megawati and PDI led by Soerjadi. The PDI masses took sides and recognized Mega. However, the government recognized Soerjadi as the legitimate Chairman of the PDI. As a result, the PDI led by Megawati could not participate in the 1997 General Election. After the New Order regime collapsed, PDI Mega changed its name to PDI Perjuangan (PDIP).

The political party with the symbol of a bull with a white muzzle won the 1999 elections. PDIP won more than 30 percent of the vote. The victory put Mega in the position that deserved to be president more than any other party cadre. however, at the 1999 MPR General Session (SU), Mega lost.

Even so, less than 2 years later, on July 23, 2001, MPR members unanimously placed Mega as the 5th President of the Republic of Indonesia replacing KH. Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur). Megawati became president until October 20, 2003.