It’s Puan’s story, not mine, says Taufiq Kiemas

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chief patron Taufiq Kiemas declined to reveal topics discussed during a closed-door meeting on Tuesday's evening with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's close aide Hatta Rajasa.

“I can't tell you,” said Taufiq, who is also the People's Consultative Assembly Speaker, adding that his daughter, Puan Maharani, would handle questions on the matter.

Puan, the chairwoman of PDI-P’s advisory board, also attended the Tuesday meeting at Taufiq’s residence.

“You have to ask Puan … Puan is the decision maker. If I make the decision, I could not possibly survive until [the 2014 election],” Taufiq said at the House of Representatives building on Thursday, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

“This is a chronicle for the young.”

Rumors have emerged suggesting the meeting was held to propose a coalition between the ruling Democratic Party and PDI-P, following warming relations between the two former arch-enemies.

Many have said the Democratic Party and PDI-P are close to forming a deal on the heels of deepening rifts with two of the party’s its existing coalition partners, the Golkar Party and Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), which sided with the opposition in a recent important House vote.

The vote, held to decide whether to conduct a House inquiry into corruption in the tax office, was politically charged, observers said, because it had the potential to lead to Yudhoyono’s impeachment.