IO, Jakarta – The Prosperous Justice Party (Partai Keadilan Sejahtera – “PKS”) has confirmed its intention to be that of the opposition. It is only a matter of time until this position is formally legalized. “Until now, PKS is still firm in its stance of remaining outside of the Government. Our official standing will be announced when the Shuro Council Assembly is completed. It is this Assembly who will determine our formal stance by the end of the year,” said DPP PKS’ Labor, Agriculture, and Fishery Division Head Ledia Hanifa at the House of Representative (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat – “DPR”) in Senayan, Jakarta, on Tuesday (16/7/2019).
Ledia stated that the opposition is not about the numbers. She emphasized that PKS will only provide strongly constructive criticism to the Government. “Therefore, no matter where we may be – and we’re not in the Government anyway – we will continue to provide constructive inputs to the Government as part of our criticism. This is because no matter what, everything must be balanced – checks and balances must go on,” she said.
A similar view is expressed by the Head of PKS’s Central Leadership Council (Dewan Pimpinan Pusat – “DPP”) Mardani Ali Sera. “Insha Allah (by the will of Allah), we are steadfast in our stance as the “constructive criticism opposition”, even though the final decision must still await the processing through the Shuro Council Assembly,” he said.
Mardani further added that PKS constituents have urged the Party to be courteous and elegant. Therefore, PKS considers politics to be more than the process for chasing after and obtaining power: akhlaq or spiritual morality and courtesy is also involved. He further stated that PKS proposes a different stance from that of Jokowi in their comments. “If we support Pak Jokowi now, I should think that it goes against the akhlaq we have been instilled with,” he said. “This is part of our public ethics. After all, a campaign contains many promises, and one of ours is to serve as opposition with constructive criticism.” (Dan)