Gerindra Responds to Budi Arie on Elections: Focus on Safeguarding Prabowo's Programmes
Gerindra Party spokesman Sugiat Santoso has responded to a viral video clip of Projo chairman Budi Arie Setiadi speaking with former president Joko Widodo about the possibility of an early general election.
In a written statement, Sugiat stressed that Gerindra is focused on safeguarding and ensuring the success of all programmes under President Prabowo Subianto.
“We are focused on making Mr Prabowo’s programmes a success. There is no discussion about 2029; it is still too far away to be discussed,” Sugiat said when contacted in Jakarta on Tuesday (25/8).
Sugiat said that for Gerindra, securing and overseeing Prabowo’s programmes is far more important than discussing the 2029 election, as it is still too early to do so.
“What we are focusing on now is securing and overseeing Mr Prabowo’s programmes that benefit the Indonesian people,” he added.
Sugiat asked all parties to question Budi Arie directly about the intention behind the early election remarks.
He said only Budi Arie knows the meaning and purpose of the statement.
“So regarding his statement, only Budi Arie himself knows what he meant. Please ask the person concerned. We are not influenced by it,” Sugiat said.
He stressed that Gerindra remains focused on overseeing Prabowo’s administration and ensuring that the programmes launched can run smoothly and provide benefits.
Previously, a video clip circulated showing Budi Arie speaking about the possibility of political momentum and elections taking place sooner. The video went viral on social media.
In the recording, Budi appeared to be at a forum, sitting next to Indonesia’s seventh president, Joko Widodo (Jokowi).
“Earlier I whispered to Mr Jokowi, ‘Sir, my instinct says it could be sooner than 2029.’ Do we want that? We may not necessarily want it,” Budi Arie said.
“We are still saying, ‘Oh, this is the 2029 election, the 2029 election.’ What if an acceleration happens? Are we ready or not?” he added.
Projo Clarification
Meanwhile, Secretary-General of Projo’s Central Executive Board, Fredy Alex Damanik, provided clarification regarding the video. According to him, the circulating video is not a complete recording.
“First, the video is not a full recording. He was actually presenting various possibilities,” Fredy said in an official statement on Tuesday (25/8).
Fredy said the forum where Budi delivered his views was a gathering held in the context of Indonesia’s Independence Month between Jokowi and volunteers.
At the forum, there was a brief internal discussion that captured the national situation. Various inputs on how to respond to the current situation were discussed by participants to map out problems and offer solutions.
The inputs were deliberately conveyed to Jokowi so that they could reach the ears of current President Prabowo Subianto, given the good relationship between the two.
“This was conveyed by the volunteers to Mr Jokowi in the hope that he would be willing to pass it on to President Prabowo for the nation’s future improvement,” Fredy said.
On that occasion, Fredy said, Jokowi listened to all the volunteers’ views on the current situation. Indonesia’s seventh president then urged everyone to remain calm.