Bamsoet Calls Prabowo a Unifying Figure

Jakarta (ANTARA) — House of Representatives Commission III member Bambang Soesatyo has called President Prabowo Subianto a unifying figure whose leadership has embraced political rivals.

“Pak Prabowo is consistent between his words and actions, which gave birth to this book, ‘Common Sense Politics,’ a reflection on leadership that unites, embraces, and bridges — because in truth, politics is something that must be continually nurtured. Failure in leadership is not caused by the abundance of differences, but by the inability to unite those differences,” said Bamsoet, as he is commonly known, in a speech at the book launch in Jakarta on Sunday.

Bamsoet cited President Prabowo’s leadership in successfully embracing political rivals through the granting of abolition to former Trade Minister Tom Lembong and amnesty to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) Secretary General Hasto Kristiyanto.

“We can see something rather unusual there — when his opponents, whose names need not be mentioned, who once labeled him, were suddenly embraced, suddenly given positions,” he said.

Bamsoet said that in the national political landscape, both figures were political opponents who stood on the opposite side from Prabowo during the 2024 Presidential Election. Both, Bamsoet said, were granted pardons while entangled in corruption cases — Tom Lembong was given abolition and Hasto was pardoned through amnesty.

“Who doesn’t know, for instance, Tom Lembong, Hasto — these were people on the opposing side during the presidential election. Key figures in the rival presidential campaigns against Pak Prabowo. But suddenly we were struck by a policy, a decision that for most people prompted the question, ‘What does this mean?’ — Tom Lembong with abolition, Hasto with amnesty,” he said.

According to Bamsoet, Prabowo’s move provides certainty for law enforcement in Indonesia. “We have heard that Indonesia is labeled as lacking legal certainty, among other things. Well, today he is precisely working to put things in order, strengthening the foundation for law enforcement and legal certainty,” he said.