Rustriningsih (born 3 July 1967) is an Indonesian politician who served as the Vice Governor of
Central Java between 2008 and 2013. Previously, she served two terms as the regent of
Kebumen. She was formerly a member of
PDI-P
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle ( id, Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan, PDI-P) is an Indonesian political party, and the party of the current President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo.
The PDI-P was founded and is currently led by Me ...
, until she left the party around 2014 following her support for
Prabowo Subianto
Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo (born 17 October 1951) is an Indonesian politician, businessman and former army lieutenant general who is the currently-appointed Minister of Defense of the Republic of Indonesia. He is the son of Sumitro Djojoh ...
in the
2014 Indonesian presidential election.
Early life and education
Rustriningsih was born in Kedungampel village of
Kebumen,
Central Java on 3 July 1967 as the eighth of ten children. Her father Sukamto was a
PNI activist during the
Sukarno government and, later on, was active in
PDI activities. After completing her basic education, she studied in
General Soedirman University's faculty of social and political sciences. While there, she once trained PDI cadres, allowing her to meet
Megawati Soekarnoputri
Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri (; born 23 January 1947) is an Indonesian politician who served as the fifth president of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004. She previously served as the eighth vice president from 1999 to 2001.
Megawati i ...
.
Career
Pre-regent
After graduating from university, Rustriningsih began a catering business and a news agency, both based in her parents' house. The news agency eventually grew to employ 28 people.
In political activities, she joined PDI's regional board on 1993, and by 1996 was the chief of PDI's Kebumen branch. When PDI encountered internal conflict and government intervention in 1996, Rustriningsih was a Megawati loyalist, forming sub-branches for the party and being arrested (though always later released) several times. Following the
fall of Suharto
Suharto resigned as President of Indonesia on 21 May 1998 following the collapse of support for his 32-year long presidency. Vice President B. J. Habibie took over the presidency.
Suharto's grip on power weakened following severe economic and ...
, Rustriningsih became the head of Kebumen's
General Elections Commission
The General Elections Commission ( id, Komisi Pemilihan Umum, abbreviated as KPU) is the body that organises elections in Indonesia. Its responsibilities include deciding which parties can contest elections, organising the voting and announcing ...
.
Regent
Rustriningsih was first elected as regent of her home regency of
Kebumen in 2000 after gaining 22 votes from the municipal council to her opponent's 20. Her running mate was Nashiruddin Al-Mansyur, an influential local ''
kyai
A kyai ( ) is an expert in Islam, usually used among the ethnic Javanese people.
Origins
The word is of Javanese origin. Sometimes it is spelled kiai. Traditionally, students of Islam in Indonesia would study in a boarding school known as a ...
''.
Throughout her first term, she focused on populist development projects supporting small-scale enterprises and was consistent in opposing corruption.
She would feature every morning on Kebumen's local TV station RATIH TV in an interactive program ''Selamat Pagi Bupati'' (Good morning Regent), where she would directly answer questions about problems in Kebumen from viewers.
She adopted a reformist and trustworthy image, and received an "Outstanding Women in Local Government" from
UNESCAP
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is one of the five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It was established in order to increase economic ...
, and was featured by ''
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
''.
In 2005, she ran for her second term in the regency's first direct local election. Sometime around 2004, she also adopted a headscarf (after going on
hajj and marrying her husband), adopting a more pious image.
In the following election, she won in a landslide, securing a victory in 25 out of 26 subdistricts in Kebumen.
Vice governor
During her second term as regent, Rustriningsih ran as
Bibit Waluyo's running mate for the governorship of
Central Java and won. The pair was sworn in on 23 August 2008. In the five-year tenure, she would attempt and fail to become the head of PDI-P's provincial board in Central Java, with her brother also losing in Kebumen's 2010 regency election.
In 2013, she registered with her party to run for the governorship of Central Java. While she had significant popularity in the province, the party decided to not endorse her at the last moment. According to a
Gerindra
The Gerindra Party (acronym for , ) is a political party in Indonesia. Formed in 2008, Gerindra serves as the political vehicle of former general Prabowo Subianto. It is presently the third-largest party in the House of Representatives, where it ...
leader, she could have sought the support of other parties, but did not do so.
PDIP
Though Rustriningsih had been part of the
Indonesian Democratic Party
The Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) was one of the two state-approved parties during the New Order era of the late 20th-century in Indonesia.
Origins
Ten political parties participated in the 1971 legislative elections, a number that Pres ...
(PDI) during the
New Order, she would be appointed as a member of its consultative body in 2001. She received significant coverage in media, and received attention and funding from human rights organizations abroad due to her perceived position as member of an oppressed group.
She had also become the leader of
PDI-P
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle ( id, Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan, PDI-P) is an Indonesian political party, and the party of the current President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo.
The PDI-P was founded and is currently led by Me ...
's local office in Kebumen.
For the
2014 Indonesian presidential election, Rustriningsih endorsed the
Prabowo Subianto
Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo (born 17 October 1951) is an Indonesian politician, businessman and former army lieutenant general who is the currently-appointed Minister of Defense of the Republic of Indonesia. He is the son of Sumitro Djojoh ...
/
Hatta Rajasa
Muhammad Hatta Rajasa (born 18 December 1953) is an Indonesian politician who served as the Coordinating Minister for the Economy of Indonesia from 22 October 2009 to 13 May 2014. A member of the National Mandate Party (PAN), he previously served ...
pair - opposed to her party, who endorsed the
Joko Widodo/
Jusuf Kalla ticket. Due to this, PDI-P leader
Megawati Soekarnoputri
Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri (; born 23 January 1947) is an Indonesian politician who served as the fifth president of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004. She previously served as the eighth vice president from 1999 to 2001.
Megawati i ...
called for her to leave the party, and she ended up leaving that year. Prior to this, she had also encountered some internal controversy in her party due to her status as one of the initial founders of
Nasdem
The Nasdem Party ( id, Partai NasDem) is a political party in Indonesia. It is partly funded by media baron Surya Paloh who founded the similarly named organization, National Democrats ( id, Nasional Demokrat). Despite this, and logo similarity, Na ...
prior to its establishment as a political party.
Post-2014
Rustriningsih was proposed as a possible running mate to
Sudirman Said in the
2018 Central Java gubernatorial election, but she ended up not running. In the election itself, the PDI-P backed candidate and incumbent
Ganjar Pranowo
Ganjar Pranowo (born 28 October 1968) is the Governor of Central Java who has served since 23 August 2013. He is a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle. Previously, he was a member of the People's Representative Council of the ...
lost in Kebumen, and the defeat was attributed to Rustriningsih's influence in the regency. She again campaigned for Prabowo in the
2019 Indonesian presidential election
General elections were held in Indonesia on 17 April 2019. For the first time in the country's history, the president, the vice president, members of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), and members of local legislative bodies were elected ...
.
Personal life
Rustriningsih married Soni Achmad Saleh Ashar in 2004, and has five children (one adopted) as of February 2010.
References
{{Reflist
1967 births
Living people
Vice Governors of Central Java
Mayors and regents of places in Central Java
People from Kebumen Regency
Women regents of places in Indonesia
Kebumen (town)
Regents of places in Indonesia