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Prabowo mulls setting up presidents' club
Prabowo's spokesperson Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak said the club could include former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his predecessor Megawati Soekarnoputri and the outgoing President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.
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President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (second left), then-vice president Jusuf Kalla (left), Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri (center), then-vice president-elect Ma’ruf Amin (second right) and Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto attend the opening ceremony of the fifth PDI-P congress in Sanur, Bali, on Aug. 8, 2019. (JP/Zul Trio Anggono/Adi)
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senior aide to president-elect Prabowo Subianto on Friday said the president-elect had proposed to form the so-called "presidents' club" where the country's former presidents could sit together and discuss efforts to tackle some of most pressing problems.
Prabowo's spokesperson Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak said the club could include former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his predecessor Megawati Soekarnoputri and outgoing President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.
"I use the term presidents' club and not as an institution. The essence of this is that Pak Prabowo wants all former presidents to meet regularly and discuss strategic problems faced by the nation," Dahnil was quoted by Kompas as saying on Friday.
The spokesperson also said that Prabowo expected to hold an inaugural meeting for the club involving Jokowi, Yudhoyono and Megawati very soon.
"God willing, when the time comes Pak Prabowo will meet and sit down with Pak Jokowi, Pak SBY and Bu Megawati," Dahnil said, referring to Yudhoyono by his initials.
The proposal for the formation of a presidents’ club was floated soon after Megawati, who is the chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), rebuffed President Jokowi's proposal of a private meeting.
Megawati has expressed her displeasure at Jokowi's move to back Prabowo in the Feb. 14 presidential election, reneging on his initial plan of supporting the candidacy of the PDI-P's candidate Ganjar Pranowo.
