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Kalla receives Prabowo at VP office
Vice President Jusuf Kalla met with losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto at the Vice Presidential Office in Jakarta on Tuesday, leading to further hope for political reconciliation in the country
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ice President Jusuf Kalla met with losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto at the Vice Presidential Office in Jakarta on Tuesday, leading to further hope for political reconciliation in the country.
The meeting was held only a day after President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo and Kalla assumed office, or four days after Jokowi visited Prabowo at his house in South Jakarta, which was hailed as a display of statesmanship.
Both meetings won praise as they signaled that the two had moved on and left behind their political rivalry. The fierce rivalry after the July 9 election resulted in intense animosity between the two contenders' support bases. The election was considered the country's most divisive.
'Thank you for receiving me, Pak Kalla. I have always treated him with respect as he is my senior,' Prabowo said at a press conference that he and Kalla held after the meeting.
Kalla concurred by calling Prabowo 'an old friend'.
'I also feel honored to receive you, Pak. I think our last meeting was about 10 years ago,' the seasoned Golkar Party politician said.
Before forming the Gerindra Party, which he chairs, in 2008, Prabowo was a Golkar politician.
During the first official presidential debate in June, Kalla pressed Prabowo on the latter's alleged human rights violations, which were considered the former military general's biggest liability.
Kalla asked why Prabowo was sure he was clean despite his dismissal from the Indonesian Military (TNI) being proof of his wrongdoing in the abduction of activists in 1998.
A perturbed Prabowo responded by saying, 'I am a former soldier who carried out my duty to the best of my ability. Judgment lies with my superiors.'
Many considered that Jokowi-Kalla had clearly won the first debate over the Prabowo-Hatta Rajasa ticket.
In the press conference, Kalla apologized to Prabowo for any unease he caused him during the debate.
'I apologize [for my question]. [But] you must understand [because] it was a campaign,' Kalla said with laughter.
Prabowo responded by reiterating that the competition had ended with Jokowi-Kalla democratically declared the winners.
'In politics, we can make tough statements. But deep inside, we are united. We should now give the opportunity for the government to work and prove its promise to develop Indonesia,' Prabowo said. (nfo)(+++)
