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PDI-P brushes off rumors of frayed ties with Jokowi
“It is par for the course in extended families that along the way, there are children who act out or are naughty,” the President said on Wednesday.
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (right) and First Lady Iriana (left) walk with Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri (center) upon arriving at the inauguration of the At-Taufiq mosque in Lenteng Agung, South Jakarta on June 8, 2022. (Antara/Dhemas Reviyanto)
T
he Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has insisted that all is well between chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri and President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, even after the latter appeared to confirm on Wednesday whispers of a disagreement between them.
Talk of rocky rapport between the two politicians reemerged last week after Megawati skipped a national Pancasila Day event hosted by Jokowi – held to celebrate the ideology that her father Sukarno instilled in the national conscience.
The chatter was briefly dampened after a short video was circulated to the press on Tuesday of the two talking at the State Palace, where Megawati was being reinstated as the head of the Pancasila Ideology Education Agency’s (BPIP) steering committee.
After the meeting, PDI-P secretary general Hasto Kristiyanto dismissed speculation about an internal conflict.
But the President seemed to suggest that things were not always so rosy as the two figures met again on Wednesday for the inauguration of At-Taufiq Mosque at the PDI-P’s South Jakarta headquarters. Jokowi was leading the ceremony to commemorate Megawati’s late husband Taufiq Kiemas, who passed away nine years ago.
The President opened his speech by reiterating his utmost respect for the PDI-P chairwoman, whom he considered “like my own mother”. But he also acknowledged that disagreements could arise even in close families.
“If, along the way, there are differences between mother and son, that’s normal,” Jokowi said.
