President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo has been advised to be cautious in dealing with the Golkar Party that declared its support to his government in a recent party meeting.

Before declaring its support for the government, Golkar had a key role in the Red and White Coalition (KMP) and therefore, said Pangi Syarwi Chaniago of Indostrategi in Jakarta on Wednesday, Jokowi had to consider carefully Golkar'€™s motive for the change in its political stance.

Pangi believes that Jokowi needs to have a formal agreement with Golkar and other political parties in the ruling coalition so that there is a clear commitment that they will support government policies, particularly in dealing with the Houses of Representatives.

'€œAs long as the government does not violate the Constitution, the Golkar Party and other political parties have to support government policies,'€ he said, adding that Jokowi needed to learn from former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono'€™s government whose policies were jeopardized by members of the ruling collation.

As the nation'€™s second-largest political group, the Golkar Party'€™s support will help the ruling collation to secure more than 70 percent of seats in the House of Representatives. The Golkar decision was made during the party'€™s national leadership meeting in Jakarta that ran from Jan. 23 to Jan. 25 and was attended by representatives of Golkar'€™s regional chapters.

Apart from having to deal with Golkar, Pangi, a lecturer at state-owned Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic University, said Jokowi could also face possible disappointment from political parties that had supported him since the beginning of his administration.

'€œThere is a suspicion and a discontent within the ruling coalition, particularly because existing parties [within the collation] are unhappy that their ministerial positions will be reduced,'€ said Pangi, adding that it was the task of Jokowi to give a clear explanation about the entry of Golkar to the coalition.

Ahmad Basarah of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) appreciated the entry of Golkar into the ruling coalition, but advised Jokowi to manage the support of political parties wisely to avoid possible friction within the coalition.

'€œThe most important thing is that Jokowi should be able to manage the support of political parties so that their support brings positive energy rather than negative energy [for his government],'€ said Basarah as reported by kompas.com.

He called on Golkar to immediately end its internal friction so that the party could give full support as an institution to the government. '€œThe Golkar support is expected to be comprehensive, as an institution and legally and politically legitimate,'€ he said. (bbn)(+)

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