Jakarta. The National Awakening Party (PKB) chose to wait until President-Elect Prabowo Subianto takes his oath of office before declaring whether they would be in the opposition or not, according to its chairman Muhaimin Iskandar. 

Muhaimin, popularly known as Cak Imin, kicked off the party’s nationwide conference in Jakarta on Tuesday. Muhaimin was the running mate for Anies Baswedan, one of Prabowo’s rivals in the February presidential election. Prabowo’s inauguration ceremony is slated for Oct. 20, during which he will replace the two-term President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. As the inauguration nears, questions now linger on whether the Islam-based PKB would be a pro-government or opposition party. 

“Whether we join [the government] or not, let’s just wait until Oct. 20,” Cak Imin said on the sidelines of the conference. 

Earlier that day, Prabowo’s Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) had asked PKB to join the Prabowo-Gibran coalition. Gerindra’s senior official Sufmi Dasco Ahmad told the PKB conference that “all parties must unite together because this country needs us.”

In response to Dasco’s proposal, Cak Imin said his party would remain open to all aspirations ahead of the regional elections. Indonesians across the archipelago will vote for their regional heads this November. 

“PKB is pleased to welcome Mr. Dasco’s proposal. Since the very beginning, we have always supported a strong and effective government,” Cak Imin said. 

However, Cak Imin said that the party members would need to discuss among themselves first before making a decision. He added: “Let’s just wait. This national conference is still ongoing. We will make an announcement later.”

Add as a preferred source on Google +