Jakarta. The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) on Tuesday criticized Anies Baswedan for a lack of communication after he abruptly picked an outsider as his running mate without prior consultation with two members of the coalition backing his presidential bid.

While the Muslim-based ultimately accepted Muhaimin Iskandar as Anies’ ticket mate, it expressed regret over the process that didn’t allow enough time for all members of the three-party coalition to sit together and discuss the matter properly.

Muhaimin is the chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB), which supported a rival coalition until he became a ticket mate for Anies.

“It must not happen again in the future, [Anies] needs to improve his communication skills,” said Jazuli Juwaini, chairman of the PKS faction in the House of Representatives.

The selection of a running mate is a very crucial decision that requires effective communication to reach a consensus from all members of the coalition, Jazuli added.

The coalition originally included the PKS, the Democratic Party, and the National Democratic Party (Nasdem). It has been revealed that Muhaimin’s appointment was decided exclusively by Nasdem Chairman Surya Paloh and Anies.

The Democratic Party was particularly angry at the development after for months insisting on its chairman Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono to become the pick for the running mate. It announced withdrawal from the coalition on Friday, just a day after receiving the news of Muhaimin’s unexpected arrival at the coalition.

The PKS didn’t send its leaders when the Anies-Muhaimin pairing was officially declared at a ceremony in Surabaya, saying they needed to get approval first from clerics in the party’s advisory board.

But later, the PKS stated it would continue supporting Anies for the 2024 presidential election.

"We need to build a sound communication channel so that we can solve any problem properly. With good communication, we could have assessed the candidate from various perspectives," Jazuli said.

His remarks came just hours after the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said it had summoned Muhaimin as a witness in an ongoing graft investigation but the politician failed to show up.

"For the PKS, we put country over party so let’s turn the page. However, we need to make sure that we have a better communication system in the future,” Jazuli said.

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