TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Agung, Ical talk over wine at friend's birthday bash
Golkar Party adversaries Agung Laksono and Aburizal "Ical" Bakrie, who have been feuding over the control of the nation's second-biggest party, briefly buried the hatchet as they simmered down over glasses of wine in their first meeting in three months late on Wednesday
Change Size
G
olkar Party adversaries Agung Laksono and Aburizal "Ical" Bakrie, who have been feuding over the control of the nation's second-biggest party, briefly buried the hatchet as they simmered down over glasses of wine in their first meeting in three months late on Wednesday.
At a birthday bash of a friend, Adi Warsita, held in Kemang, South Jakarta, Agung said he had bumped into Ical and that the crowd applauded their reunion and told them to sit side by side.
"We just chatted. No deal or serious talk. We just enjoyed the music, and of course the wine," Agung told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
"We're friends. We jointly setup ANTV in the 1990s. Personally, there are no problems at all. We don't owe each other any debt, and I've never bothered his family. We're just different in the way we view politics," he said, adding that the last time they met was in December.
Golkar has split into two factions, one led by Ical and the other by Agung, whose leadership was recently recognized by Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna H. Laoly, who is soon slated to issue a letter of confirmation on Agung's leadership.
Agung has promised to support President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's administration and leave the Red-and-White Coalition.
In securing full control over Golkar, Agung has rearranged the party's management, rooting out supporters of his rival but keeping some who are willing to switch sides.
"I've sent a letter to Pak Ical to propose a reconciliation. The respond came so late and he eventually rejected it. He told me to wait for the court decision," he said.
"But there have been calls from people in his camp, telling us that they want to join us."(+++)
