May 13, 2024
JAKARTA – President-elect Prabowo Subianto’s recent comments about Sukarno point to a “growing impatience” in his efforts to court the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) as a stabilizing force for the incoming government, analysts contend.
After a series of efforts to lure political parties from rival camps into his governing coalition, Prabowo, in an internal event hosted by a coalition member last week, took an unexpected swipe at the PDI-P, which has not yet decided on whether to join the coalition or become an opposition force.
“One party has claimed ownership of Sukarno, and I say no, he belongs to us all. And I get the feeling that he would have endorsed me. Whatever he aspired to – that Indonesia should stand on its own feet, that Indonesia should not be the lifeblood of other nations – that’s what I have been fighting for,” he said, alluding to the PDI-P.
In the same speech during the event hosted by the pro-Prabowo National Awakening Party (PAN), Prabowo appeared to give an early warning to his rivals to refrain from hindering his administration from doing its work.
“For those who don’t want to join us, that’s fine. If they want to see the show from the side of the road, please be good viewers. But for those who don’t want to work with us, don’t disturb us,” he said.
Since his victory, Prabowo, who chairs Gerindra Party, has been reaching out to parties from rival camps to assemble a big coalition and command a majority in the House of Representatives, which could help him accelerate his legislative agenda and form a stable government.
Prabowo’s thinly veiled snub at the PDI-P came after several of the party’s members, including unsuccessful presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo, dropped hints that the party might take up the opposition role against the incoming government.
The PDI-P is projected to win the largest number of seats in the legislature after its victory in the February legislative election.
Prabowo’s Thursday remarks have drawn reactions from numerous members of the PDI-P elite who have generally refrained from firing back against the president-elect.
PDI-P executive Ahmad Basarah underlined the party’s hopes that Prabowo would implement the values inherited from Sukarno and the nation’s other founding fathers when he takes office in October.
“I also hope that Pak Prabowo does not become a leader who is anti-criticism. [I hope he] does not consider political parties that do not join his government or those who criticize him as ‘disruptors’,” Basarah told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
“In the democratic system inherited from the founding fathers and outlined in our Constitution, we grant people the rights to monitor the running of the government,” he added.
Gerindra deputy chair Habiburokhman dismissed suggestions that Prabowo’s remarks were aimed at curbing opposition voices, including parties that decided not to join his governing coalition. Habiburokhman said Prabowo would always welcome criticism.
“In his speech, Prabowo simply urged those who had bad intentions for the country not to disrupt public services,” Habiburokhman said.
Analyst Agung Baskoro of Trias Politika Strategis believed that Prabowo’s thinly veiled swipe at the PDI-P highlighted a “communication breakdown” between the new president and PDI-P matron Megawati Soekarnoputri amid efforts to stage a post-election meeting of the two leaders.
“It appears that Prabowo’s ongoing efforts to reach out and open a line of communication with Megawati have so far been one-sided and Prabowo is starting to run out of patience,” Agung said.
A post-election meeting between Megawati and Prabowo would have to wait for Megawati’s decision regarding the PDI-P’s future, Basarah said last month. Megawati is expected to announce the party’s political stance regarding Prabowo’s incoming administration at a PDI-P national meeting to be held from May 24 to 26.
Burhanuddin Muhtadi of pollster Indikator Politik Indonesia said Prabowo should refrain from making such remarks that could discourage his rivals from joining his coalition. He also said that “political opponents” should not be equated with “enemies”.
“There are parties that might decide not to join the government and that have different policy proposals but share Prabowo’s spirit of developing the nation,” Burhanuddin said.
Burhanuddin however described Prabowo’s remarks as a “blessing in disguise”, because it showed that there was a possibility of opposition parties emerging amid concerns that there will not be any opposition to Prabowo’s presidency.
“Prabowo’s speech implied that there are potentially one to two parties that are headed down the opposition path, and one of them will be the PDI-P. This is good news for our democracy,” he said.