IO, Jakarta – National Democrat (Nasional Demokrat – “NasDem”) Party General Chairman Surya Paloh declared that President Joko Widodo (“Jokowi”) is a cadre of the NasDem Party. Surya stated that he has no problem whatsoever by declaring Jokowi as a NasDem cadre – or even if other parties claim Jokowi to be theirs. “Well, if other political parties make the claim that Jokowi is their cadre, NasDem can also make that claim. However, this is in the context of placing President Jokowi as head of government, head of state, as well as the president belonging to all of Indonesia’s people. NasDem also agrees with that,” Surya Paloh stated at the NasDem Party’s State Defense Academy, Pancoran, South Jakarta, on Tuesday (16/7/2019).
Surya is certain that the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan – “PDIP”), Jokowi’s original party, would not be upset with his statement. “The most important thing is that it is just to emphasize that Jokowi belongs to all of Indonesia’s citizens. No, they would not be angry. It’s all in good faith. Essentially, I am saying that a president as the head of state belongs to all of Indonesia,” he said.
Surya Paloh has earlier claimed Jokowi as a cadre of his party because NasDem gained 12 million votes and 60 seats in the parliament during the 2019 Elections due in no small part to Jokowi’s contribution. “So if there are people who ask you, “Which party is Jokowi a cadre of?” That would be the #1 Party, the NasDem!” he said.
Surya Paloh further stated that NasDem’s claims should not be doubted. In fact, if Jokowi can be “stamped” with a party stamp, the stamp should be that of the NasDem Party. “So never doubt it! When we talk about the party stamp, let’s stamp it with NasDem Party stamp, we say that Jokowi is a cadre of the NasDem Party,” he said.
PDIP has responded to Surya Paloh’s statement by saying that they are actually proud. “If Pak Surya Paloh even said that he is a cadre of NasDem, that means that he is overqualified – that PDIP cadres are so good that other parties want them too. Therefore, PDIP would actually be proud if many people claim Pak Jokowi as their cadre, no matter what the motivation may be,” said DPP PDIP’s Secretary in Education and Training Eva Kusuma Sundari. (dsy)