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PAN to join forces with Gerindra
Strength in numbers: Supporters of Gerindra Party presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto and National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Hatta Rajasa hold a rally at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Jakarta on Friday
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Strength in numbers: Supporters of Gerindra Party presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto and National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Hatta Rajasa hold a rally at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Jakarta on Friday. (Antara/Reno Esnir) (PAN) chairman Hatta Rajasa hold a rally at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Jakarta on Friday. (Antara/Reno Esnir)
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span class="inline inline-none">Strength in numbers: Supporters of Gerindra Party presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto and National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Hatta Rajasa hold a rally at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Jakarta on Friday. (Antara/Reno Esnir)
National Mandate Party (PAN) executive Tjatur Sapto Edy has confirmed that his party will join the Gerindra Party coalition, as it supported Gerindra presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto's vision of economic nationalism.
'Yes, PAN has decided to join the coalition of Prabowo Subianto and the Gerindra Party,' he said on Thursday in Jakarta, as quoted by Antara news agency.
'We recognize that Prabowo can implement the spirit of Article 33 of the Constitution,' he added.
The article stipulates that the country's economy is based on the principles of democracy, fairness and self-sufficiency and that all vital production sectors and natural resources must be controlled by the state for the sake of the people.
During his campaigns, Prabowo declared his ambition to nationalize foreign assets and to elevate the livelihoods of farmers and workers.
PAN's support for Gerindra came after Gerindra co-founder Hashim Djojohadikusumo named PAN chairman Hatta Rajasa a possible vice presidential candidates for Prabowo.
The other candidates were Golkar chaiman Aburizal Bakrie and figures from Indonesia's largest Muslim organization, the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU).
Tjatur rebuffed accusations that his party's support was influenced by the ' as yet ' vacant vice presidential ticket. 'Prabowo will choose his running mate. There is also the PKS [the Prosperous Justice Party] and Golkar. We are not collaborating to nominate Hatta Rajasa as Prabowo's running mate,' he said.
PAN will officially decide on its choice of coalition during the national meeting (Rakernas) on May 14 in Jakarta. Gerindra deputy chairman Fadli Zon confirmed on Friday that Prabowo would attend the meeting.
Aside from PAN, Golkar, the PKS and the Hanura Party have also signaled they might collaborate with Gerindra.
Various quick counts indicate that in the April 9 legislative election, Gerindra garnered 11 percent of the vote; Golkar 14.3 percent; and PAN, PKS and Hanura secured 7.6 percent, 6.9 percent and 5.40 percent respectively.
If the coalition materialized, Gerindra will have 45.2 percent of the vote, a strong grounding for Prabowo's presidential aspirations.
The United Development Party (PPP) withdrew its support for Prabowo last month following rift within the party among its top brass.
It remains unclear whether President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party will form its own coalition or side with Gerindra or the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
The chance of a collaboration with Gerindra seems unlikely after Yudhoyono voiced loosely-veiled criticism against Prabowo.
In a video uploaded on the Democrats' Youtube channel on Wednesday, Yudhoyono said that the vision of a certain presidential hopeful to nationalize foreign assets, if implemented, may adversely impact the country.
'Maybe people think 'Wow, that is great and bold'. But if the assets ' based on agreements during the Sukarno and Soeharto eras ' were nationalized ['¦] Tomorrow, we would be sued at arbitration courts and we would lose. The ramification: Our economy will be ravaged,' he says in the video.
