Golkar To Team Up With Megawati
Tuesday, 26 August, 2008 | 17:35 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:Golkar parliamentary leader Priyo Budi Santoso said yesterday that some thought has been given to teaming up with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) for the coming 2009 presidential election. “There have been some thoughts to pairing JK-Mega or Mega-JK,” Priyo said, referring to a possible coalition between Golkar chairman Jusuf Kalla and PDI-P leader Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Reporting to a national gathering of Golkar’s board of advisers at Jakarta's Mercure Hotel yesterday, Priyo said it would be preferable to wait until after the April 2009 legislative elections before making sa final decoision on the coalition.

Also attending yesterday's event were Kalla, board of advisers chairman Surya Paloh, vice-chairman Agung Laksono and foreign affairs commission chairman Theo Sambuaga, along with 500 other Golkar leaders from across the country.

PDI-P's representatives included board of patrons head Taufiq Kiemas, secretary-general Pramono Anung, DPP chairman Panda Nababan, and Maruarar Sirait. President Susilo Bambang Yuhoyono was invited, but he could not attend because og a state visit b y the King of Swaziland. “If he had come, the idea of teaming up JK-Mega could have developed differently,” Priyo said.

Taufiq Kiemas suggested starting more serious discussions about the coalition between the two largest parties. “It should be formed before the PDI-P national meeting in November,” he said.

Taufig believes the coalition will be important in strengthening Parliament’s role and improving its rapport with the Government. “When we are strong inside the Parliament, we can make long-term plans,” he added.


Kalla noted that nationalist parties are usually more open because they do not holde different religious points of view. “Hence, with this coalition, the nation can become more unified," he said. However, he noted that yesterday's gathering was only to socialize with PDI-P and did not get into any detail.

Asked for comments, Democrat Party chairman and presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng responded coldly to the idea of Golkar-PDIP coalition. “It’s normal," he said. "In a democratic climate, everyone is free to make a political movement."

He did not feel a coalition represented a threat to the Democrats or to President Yudhoyono and said his party was currently focusing on internal consolidation ahead of next year's elections. "When we have seen the results of the legislative election, then we can think of forming coalition with other parties,” he added.

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