SBY, Megawati Urged to Reconcile
January 12, 2014 Leave a comment
SBY, Megawati Urged to Reconcile
By Carlos Paath on 8:02 am January 9, 2014.
Pramono Edhie Wibowo, the brother-in-law of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, says he is interested in helping ease the long-running friction between Yudhoyono and Megawati Soekarnoputri, the former president, that has seen the two politicians publicly give each other the cold shoulder over the past few years.“Before this, I did not have the capacity to do so. But now, we are both presidential candidates. So if there’s a chance, I’d like to fix that,” Pramono said on Wednesday, referring to Megawati, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman, who may run in July’s election.
“Back then, bringing them together was not within my capacity, I was just an assistant [to Megawati]. Today, if both parties are willing, it would not be a problem. But if one party is willing but the other isn’t, that becomes a problem.”
Pramono, the former Army chief of staff and also the military assistant to Megawati during her presidency, said it was necessary that the current and former presidents maintained good ties for the sake of national development.
“For instance, at President SBY’s inauguration, did she shake his hand? No. It was the same between [former presidents] Sukarno and Suharto, when in fact development efforts needed to go on. I want to change this culture,” Pramono said.
There has been speculation of a possible coalition between the Democratic Party, chaired by Yudhoyono, and the PDI-P ahead of the elections.
Khatibul Wiranu, a member of the Democrats’ central executive board, said last month that a coalition between the two parties would improve the position of the next president.
“The Democratic Party, with a president who has been in office for two periods, and the PDI-P with its popularity — according to the surveys — could make the upcoming administration a much better one,” he said.
Sutan Bhatoegana, another senior Democrat, expressed a similar sentiment, saying a coalition between his party and the PDI-P was possible as both parties were said to have the same platform.
“It will all depend on the results of the legislative election. But forming a coalition with a party which has the same platform feels more appropriate,” he said. “Let’s wait and see who will join forces.”
The Democrats are running a process to pick a presidential candidate, but none of the 11 men taking part are expected to do well compared to prospective candidates and front-runners like Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, from the PDI-P, or Prabowo Subianto of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra).
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