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‘We’re not enemies,’ Megawati says of Prabowo
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Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chair Megawati Soekarnoputri delivers a speech at the party's 52nd anniversary celebration in Jakarta on Jan. 10, 2025. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
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mid mounting pressure on the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), party matriarch Megawati Soekarnoputri seems to have softened her stance toward President Prabowo Subianto, saying her relations with the Gerindra Party chairman remain fine.
The PDI-P, the only party in the legislature that is not in Prabowo’s coalition, is widely expected to take up an opposition role following its public falling-out with former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, a one-time party member, who tacitly threw his support behind Prabowo and his running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Jokowi’s eldest son, in last year’s presidential election.
The PDI-P also accused Jokowi of misusing state resources to secure a victory for the pair, particularly after the Constitutional Court, which at the time was headed by Jokowi’s brother-in-law Anwar Usman, ruled in 2023 to modify candidate age requirements in a way that allowed Gibran to run for vice president.
The feud between Jokowi and the PDI-P came to a head last month when Megawati officially expelled Jokowi, Gibran and Jokowi’s son-in-law, North Sumatra governor-elect Bobby Nasution, from the party.
But in a three-hour speech at the party’s 52nd anniversary celebrations on Friday, Megawati claimed her personal relationship with Prabowo was just fine.
“People think [Prabowo] and I are enemies. That’s not the case. But I did tell him, since we are both chairs of our own parties, how would he feel if his party members [were treated unjustly]? I’m sure he would feel the same way,” Megawati said.
Read also: Analysis: Hasto’s criminalization escalates Jokowi-Megawati tensions
