IO – The Great Indonesia Movement (Gerakan Indonesia Raya – “Gerindra”) Party’s Extraordinary Congress has appointed Prabowo Subianto as its General Chairman and Chairman of its Advisory Council for the next 5 years. Prabowo’a appointment started with the question posed by the Chair of the Plenary Meeting Ahmad Muzani after looking at vote results, “Are you ladies and gentlemen in agreement to reappoint Mr. Prabowo as our leader?” His question was met with a unanimous “Aye!” from both the cadres who were present at the Meeting in Hambalang, Bogor, and those who attended virtually. “By saying alhamdulillah, praised be to Allah, the vacuum in the Party’s leadership only lasted for two minutes. With this gavel striked by me as Meeting Chair, we officially have a General Chairman and Chairman of the Advisory Council,” he said on Saturday (08/08/2020).
After hearing the unanimity of Gerindra’s 34 Regional Leadership Council (DPD), Prabowo expressed his readiness to bear this great trust. “If it is the request of the Extraordinary Congress, I will then express my readiness to serve as the General Chairman,” he said.
“Bismillahirrahmanirrahim, in the name of Allah the Most Generous and Most Merciful. On behalf of the Chair of this Extraordinary Congress, we say alhamdulillah to express our gratitude and we congratulate Mr. Prabowo Subianto and express our prayers for him and his continued leadership for the next 5 years,” Muzani said.
Prabowo Subianto has been appointed the General Chairman of Gerindra Party since its establishment in 2008. Within this period, Gerindra has grown into a redoubtable party in Indonesian politics. Prabowo has not always been the General Chairman of the Party. He entrusted the position to Suhardi for about 6 years, until the latter’s passing in 2014.
Prabowo states that his duties within the first 30 days of leadership is to organize the new management, complete the Articles of Association/ Memorandum of Association, and several other strategic steps. “Even though I have been given 30 days’ deadline, I am immediately appointing H. Ahmad Muzani as our General Secretary for the next 5 years,” he said.
Prabowo states that Gerindra as a party in the Government’s coalition works hard to help make Joko Widodo’s government a success. He further thanked President Jokowi for making the time to give an address, followed by RI’s 5th President Megawati Soekarnoputri. “It is an honor to us, while at the same time reiterates the fact that we are part of a solid coalition. We are very much determined to support this Government because there is no other option available – we must be strong in order to be able to face the challenges also faced by other countries in the world,” he said.
Prabowo went on to declare that Gerindra allows all of its regional branches to cooperate with any other political party in the upcoming Simultaneous Regional Elections on 9 December. “We maintain cooperation with all other political parties in all regions, because our politics is positive politics that constantly prioritizes the biggest interest, which is the people’s interest,” he said.
Optimistic
In the Congress, President Joko˝ˇwi emphasizes the importance of ad˝ˇherence to health protocols and how optimism will help encourage economic growth. He further expressed his own optimism that Indonesia’s economic growth will start to recover in the Third Quarter of the year after reduced GDP in the Second Quarter. “215 countries in the world are facing uncertainty amid the health crisis that doubles as an economic crisis, which has never happened before. No country was ready to face such a crisis,” he said.
President Jokowi’s optimism is based on the hope that we can start to recover our economy with the loosening of social restrictions in the Third Quarter. “In the Second Quarter, our GDP contracted very steeply at -5.32%. However, we must never give up! We must give our all to ensure that we can recover, that we can rebound in the Third Quarter and prevent a recession,” he said. (Dan)