IO, Jakarta – Chairman of Democrat Party’s Advocacy and Law Division Ferdinand Hutahaean stated that his party is now intensifying communications with Joko Widodo-Ma’ruf Amin’s coalition, as opposed to that held with the Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno coalition. Ferdinand made the statement when he was asked which side has the more meaningful communication with the Democrat Party, nearing the Constitution Court’s decision relating to the 2019 Election dispute.
“At present we are on Presidential Candidate 01’s side. Our communication with Presidential Candidate 02 is extremely limited, since we noted that during the preparation for the submission of the case to the Constitutional Court, we (the Democrat Party) were not informed much about what specific parts that we as a party should request from the Constitutional court,” Ferdinand complained. “That is the reason why communication between Democrat Party and Candidate 02’s side tapered off. In fact, we actually communicate more with Candidate 01’s side.”
Ferdinand further stated that communication with Jokowi-Ma’ruf’s side has become smoother. This is obvious in the proper welcome given to the visit of Democrat Party Joint Task Force Command (Komando Satuan Tugas Bersama – “Kogasma”) Commander Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono and the Chairman of the Democrat Party’s Faction to the House of Representatives Edhi Bhaskoro Yudhoyono (Ibas) by President Jokowi and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan – “PDIP”) Chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri. In addition to Agus and Ibas, there was also communication with Democrat Party General Secretary Hinca Panjaitan and the Vice General Chairmen of the parties. However, Ferdinand refused to disclose which elites in the Jokowi-Ma’ruf coalition were contacted.
When asked whether the communication also includes plans for forming governmental coalitions, Ferdinand stated that the meetings did not address these issues directly. He stated that they were more directed towards obtaining a similarity of perception between the Democrat Party and Jokowi-Ma’ruf’s coalition in development issues. “The communication was made to establish future thinking frameworks, i.e. “What are we going to do with this nation?” For the Democrat Party, democracy is principally a contest. The contest is over. Therefore, let’s shake hands and develop the nation together,” he said.
Democrat Party elites earlier stated that they will decide the direction of their coalition once the Constitution Court hands down its verdict. During the 2019 Elections, the Democrat Party supported Prabowo-Sandiaga after they failed to integrate with Jokowi-Ma’ruf’s coalition. (dsy)