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President mends ties with SBY's son
Agus’ remarks are in sharp contrast to the words and actions of Prabowo, the presidential candidate and Gerindra Party chairman who the Democrats backed in the 2019 race.
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Maneuvering: President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (right) meets with the Democratic Party’s joint election command (Kogasma) chief Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, at the State Palace in Jakarta on Thusday. (Antara/Wahyu Putro A )
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gus Harimurti Yudhoyono, the son of Democratic Party chairman and former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), met with incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo at the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta on Thursday, in another move toward reconciliation following the hard-fought general election.
Agus, who is also head of the Democratic Party’s joint election command (Kogasma) that supported the incumbent’s challenger Prabowo Subianto, said he had been invited by the President through State Secretary Pratikno.
The former soldier, who is said to have ambitions for the presidency himself, arrived at the palace in a car with license plate number B 2024 AHY, in an apparent reference to the next presidential election.
“I conveyed respectful greetings from Pak SBY and [SBY’s wife] Ibu Ani and of course I am also very glad and feel very honored as a citizen to have the opportunity to be invited by the President to meet face-to-face amid his busy schedule,” Agus told reporters after the meeting.
He claims that the meeting was to strengthen silaturahim (the bonds of friendship) and had no particular political significance.
“This type of communication is also important. Not all communication has to be about pragmatic politics. There are also other big things [to discuss],” he said. “We have to always be passionate about being a big part of creating a better Indonesia in the future.”
Agus acknowledged, however, that he and Jokowi had discussed the post-election situation and were in agreement that all parties should wait for the General Elections Commission’s (KPU) announcement of the official results before taking any action.
