DPR Member's Jest at Meeting: NasDem and Gerindra Want to Merge?

Chairman of DPR Commission XIII, Willy Aditya, joked about a merger or amalgamation of his party, NasDem, with Gerindra during a meeting with the Head of the Pancasila Ideology Development Agency (BPIP), Yudian Wahyudi, on Monday (13/4). The meeting discussed the continuation of the BPIP Bill, which has now been designated as a DPR initiative proposal and awaits discussion with the government. Willy made the jest during the session for responses or questions from participants of each attending faction following Yudian’s presentation. Because the representatives of the Gerindra and NasDem factions were seated next to each other, Willy gave them the opportunity to speak first. “Let’s continue to Gerindra or NasDem first. Or do you want NasDem to merge with Gerindra? Because they’re already sitting side by side,” said Willy, which immediately elicited laughter from some meeting participants. The merger idea between the two parties has been in the spotlight following reports in Tempo magazine. President Prabowo Subianto, the General Chairman of the Gerindra Party, is said to have met with the General Chairman of the NasDem Party, Surya Paloh, to discuss the amalgamation of the two parties. Not stopping there, after the response from the NasDem representative in the meeting, Muslim Ayub, Willy continued joking about the issue. “Continue to the next one, call and response from Gondangdia to Brawijaya. Eh, from Gondangdia to Kertanegara,” said Willy. Gondangdia refers to the address of the NasDem Party’s central office in Gondangdia, Central Jakarta. Meanwhile, Kertanegara refers to Prabowo’s residence, which often serves as a meeting place for Gerindra elites.