Next month  Pertjajah Luhur (PL) will present a new candidate for the ministerial position at the Ministry of Home Affairs  (BIZA). The position became vacant after the president had accepted the letter of resignation of Minister Bronto Somohardjo.

The PL is facing opposition because two of the candidates that it had presented were rejected by the coalition partners.

The current director of the Ministry of  Home Affairs  Nasier Eskak, was one of the candidates. If the third candidate of the PL is also rejected,the PL will consider its next option which is to exit the coalition and the government. Last Saturday the chairman of the PL, Paul Somohardjo, told his party that the party had selected 10 potential candidates and that some of these candidates are former ministers and  young members. One of the candidates is the life partner of Somohardjo namely Amina Pardi. Pardi is currently an executive at the  Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing (Sozavo). Somohardjo made it clear that it is up to the party’s council to select a candidate who has the support of the party. The candidate will then be presented to the coalition leaders. If the third candidate is also rejected, the PL will deem this as disrespect towards its members.

“It must be approved by the   VHP and the ABOP. If that does not happen, it will be time to leave. Then I will leave. It is now or never,” said  Somohardjo. Although there are some tensions between PL deputy chairman  Bronto Somohardjo and  vice president Ronnie Brunswijk, the coalition has so far remained intact. The PL wants to remain a part of the coalition until the general elections of May 2025 but under one condition: it wants to determine who the next minister of Home Affairs will be. 

Bronto Somohardjo made it clear that he considers it a closed chapter and that he would focus his attention of the general elections of May 2025. He claimed that there are plans even from within the coalition to weaken the PL.

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