Sukarnoputri

And what kind of relationship will he have with Megawati Sukarnoputri, the grande dame of Indonesian politics and leader of the largest party, the PDIP?

Sukarnoputri praised Mahfud as an honest, courageous person whose commitment and idealism are unquestionable.

“He is the figure we have mandated to reform the national legal system, because the people have been waiting for this justice for a long time,” Sukarnoputri said.

A lawyer by profession and said to be close to PDI-P chair Megawati Sukarnoputri, Mahfud MD was nearly vice president in 2019 when he was supposed to run with Jokowi, but was dropped from the ticket at the last minute in favour of an Islamic cleric.

Ten sources say the moves to secretly back Prabowo were likely prompted by Jokowi's desire to carve out his own power base amid a deepening rift between Jokowi and PDI-P chair Megawati Sukarnoputri, a stalwart of Indonesian politics who has in the past played kingmaker herself.