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.
New senior minister embarks on post-election reconciliation trail
Tasked by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo with maintaining political and security stability after the 2024 elections, the new Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Hadi Tjahjanto held a meeting with the country's largest Muslim organization on his first working day on the job.
Change Size
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Hadi Tjahjanto (left) talks with Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chairman Yahya Cholil Staquf during a meeting at the Islamic organization's office in Central Jakarta on Feb. 22, 2024. (Courtesy of Humas Kemenko Polhukam/-)
I
n his first official day as the country’s new coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister, Hadi Tjahjanto paid a visit to the leadership of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country’s largest Islamic organization; a move experts said demonstrated the government’s focus on post-election reconciliation efforts.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo promoted Hadi from agrarian and spatial planning minister to his new post on Wednesday. The coordinating minister then went the following day to the NU’s central board (PBNU) in its Central Jakarta office to meet with the organization chairman Yahya Cholil Staquf.
After the meeting, Hadi told reporters that his visit was part of the government’s efforts at reconciliation after the Feb. 14 general election, in which Gerindra Party patron and incumbent Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto garnered an unassailable lead, according to various quick counts by credible pollsters.
“The PBNU is a massive organization,” the former Indonesian Military (TNI) commander said in a statement issued by his office on Thursday. “That’s why it has a big role to contribute [in maintaining] a conducive situation after the presidential and legislative elections.”
Among important agenda items for Hadi in his new job is “continuing coordinating with important figures and mass organizations”, which he described as the nation’s key components that must be held closely.
After the meeting, Yahya told the press that the PBNU would be ready to work with the government to maintain a conducive environment after the elections.
Read also: Jokowi eyes stability, smooth transition in cabinet reshuffle
