The Gerindra Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) have formed a joint secretariat to work on the victory of their presidential candidate, Gerindra’s chief patron, Prabowo Subianto, in the 2019 election.

During the launch on Friday evening, Prabowo said the idea came from young cadres of Gerindra, PKS, and the National Mandate Party (PAN), which is rumored to be a potential coalition member on Prabowo’s side.

“They came up with the idea and they challenged me to appear here,” Prabowo said in Menteng, Central Jakarta, as quoted by tempo.co.

“We see that the younger generation is ready to continue our fight. Our effort here is to prepare the regeneration,” he said.

The joint secretariat would hold various events such as discussions and Quran recitals.

Prabowo said the joint secretary was created as a communication platform for the parties in the coalition, which as of Sunday consisted of Gerindra and the PKS. 

PAN has yet to confirm whether it will join the coalition. PAN’s deputy chairman Hanafi Rais was present at Friday's event. He said he was invited but it did not mean PAN had decided to join the coalition. It would be decided in the party’s national meeting, he said. (gis)