Prabowo sends Gerindra officials to meet Megawati, deliver confidential message
JAKARTA: Officials from President Prabowo Subianto's Gerindra Party have revealed that they met with Megawati Sukarnoputri—the matriarch of the de facto opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P)—at her private residence in Menteng, Central Jakarta, to deliver a confidential message from the President.
Gerindra executive chairman and House Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad shared the news on his Instagram account on Thursday (June 5), saying the delegation 'received guidance and input for the good of the nation under the leadership of Pak Prabowo' during the visit a few days earlier.
When asked by reporters about whether the meeting discussed the possibility of the PDI-P joining Prabowo's big-tent Onward Indonesia Coalition (KIM), Dasco said no, but acknowledged that the topic often comes up during interactions between the two parties.
He also stopped short of revealing the agenda discussed during the meeting with Megawati, saying it involved a confidential message from the President.
Separately, State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, who accompanied Dasco to Megawati's residence, said the country's fifth president had reminded him to 'stay healthy and take care of Prabowo,' as quoted by Antara.
Political observer Kunto Adi from Padjadjaran University suggested the visit was likely linked to the PDI-P's upcoming congress, where the party is expected to announce its political stance regarding Prabowo's administration.
'It is very possible that [the increasingly intense relationship between Prabowo and Megawati] signals that the PDI-P will soon join Prabowo's cabinet,' he said, as reported by Kompas.
Prabowo and Megawati made a rare joint appearance on Monday to celebrate the birth of the country's founding ideology Pancasila. In the lead-up to the ceremony, Prabowo personally welcomed Megawati and exchanged jokes and pleasantries. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
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