Jakarta. The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) recently said that their chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri would finally meet President Prabowo Subianto sometime before the regional elections on Nov. 27.

The meeting was supposed to take place before Gerindra Party’s chairman Prabowo officially rose to power on Oct. 20. However, both party leaders had yet to convene to this day. The long-awaited talks, however, got pushed back. According to PDI-P’s chairman Chico Hakim, the meeting plans are still on, and will take place some time before Indonesians across the archipelago vote for their next governors.

“I believe that the meeting will take place before Nov. 27. If you ask me, I’m pretty sure they will 100-percent meet,” Chico said as broadcasted by BTV. 

Chico admitted that it was “hard to confirm” the exact date, saying that there could be changes. The PDI-P politician also attributed the earlier postponement to the “tight schedules” of both party leaders. Shortly after being inaugurated, Prabowo took all his Merah Putih (‘Red and White’) cabinet members on a military-style retreat to Magelang to build teamwork within the newly installed government. Megawati, on the other hand, is currently focusing on securing regional election victories across 545 regions. Even so, both party leaders already had their senior officials meet to discuss policies and other technical matters.

“We also see how the appointment of the House speaker and the commission heads going well, without any debates at the parliament. This is all thanks to the good communication and support from both Mrs. Megawati as well as Mr. Prabowo,” Chico said.

For reference, senior PDI-P politician and Megawati’s daughter Puan Maharani was reappointed as the House speaker. Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, a senior at Gerindra, also returned as the House’s deputy speaker. 

“If God is willing, Mrs. Megawati and Mr. Prabowo will meet in the near future. There are actually no obstacles. Both parties have good relations. We also see their harmony in the parliament,” Chico said.

Not An Opposition

PDI-P does not have a cabinet representation under Prabowo government. Despite the lack of a PDI-P minister, the party refuses to call themselves as an opposition.

“We prefer to call ourselves a balancer. Opposition has a harsh connotation, but they [a balancer and opposition] are quite the same in nature,” Chico said, while adding that PDI-P would support any pro-people policy and criticize the lack thereof.

He added: “We support the government in our own way. Support does not mean not giving criticism. We wish to provide alternative solutions that are constructive to make sure that the government can remain focused on the people’s prosperity.”

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