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Jokowi to strike back at rivals
The coalition camp of president-elect Joko âJokowiâ Widodo may be bruised after a string of legislature defeats to the coalition led by defeated presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto in the House of Representatives, but itâs not ready to give up yet
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The coalition camp of president-elect Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo may be bruised after a string of legislature defeats to the coalition led by defeated presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto in the House of Representatives, but it's not ready to give up yet.
After Jokowi's coalition ' which is led by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) ' lost control of the House leadership, Jokowi said he expected short-term turbulence in the House.
He stressed, however, that he would not bow to the political pressure imposed by the Red-and-White Coalition, which recently received a boost when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party joined the camp.
'I want to call on the people not to lose faith. The Jokowi-Kalla [vice president-elect Jusuf Kalla] administration will remain strong in delivering our programs to the people. We guarantee it,' Jokowi said.
He also promised that his administration's stated goal of improving the business climate would not be derailed by the recent setbacks.
'There is no reason for investors to be worried by what happened in the House,' Jokowi said, referring to a House plenary session held Wednesday to select the House leadership. The session, which extended into the early hours on Thursday, attracted negative publicity across the country due to the chaotic, unprofessional way it was carried out.
He also said that the door remained open for rivals to join his coalition. 'Politics can change in a matter of seconds.'
Jokowi added that he had recently learned of plans being hatched to thwart the effectiveness of his incoming administration.
Among them, he said, was a plan by the Red-and-White Coalition, which controls the majority of seats at the House, to prevent his inauguration at the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) on Oct. 20.
'The public will be able to see for themselves that these attempts are aimed at satisfying the interests of certain political groups,' Jokowi said.
A source requesting anonymity within the Jokowi-Kalla camp predicted that the political storm would be short-lived, as Jokowi was prepared to take legal measures against politicians implicated in corruption and tax-manipulation schemes.
'Don't worry. These corrupt lawmakers will be dragged down and their parties will eventually join our side,' said the source.
Golkar Party lawmaker and newly inaugurated House speaker Setya Novanto has been implicated in several graft cases. He is currently being investigated by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) as a witness, but court testimony has confirmed that he is alleged to have played a role in the crimes.
In one example, Setya has been dragged into the case of former Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar, who was sentenced to life in prison for accepting bribes from a number of regional heads.
KPK chairman Abraham Samad said on Thursday that the antigraft body regretted Setya's appointment as House speaker, saying that he had 'a potential issue with the law' that could hurt the image of the House.
'The KPK is concerned and decries the election of Setya Novanto as House speaker because he has the potential to be involved in a [future] legal case,' he said.
In addition to threatening legal action to leverage additional political support, the Jokowi camp is also bracing for potential leadership shake-ups in the rival camp, particularly within Golkar and the National Mandate Party (PAN). The two parties are scheduled to hold their national meetings in January or February.
Jokowi is hoping that the new leadership will encourage additional parties to join his coalition.
PDI-P senior politician Hasto Kristiyanto confirmed the existence of a measure currently being prepared by Jokowi's camp to respond to the maneuvers being planned by Prabowo's camp.
'There will be some element of surprise there. We should just wait for to see what happens,' he said, declining to elaborate.
