Golkar Reminds Cabinet Members Not to Quarrel Publicly

Jakarta, CNN Indonesia – Golkar Party Faction Chairman Muhammad Sarmuji urged all party members currently serving in the Red and White Cabinet not to attack or quarrel with each other in public. Sarmuji made the remarks during a thanksgiving ceremony marking the 58th anniversary of the Golkar Party Faction in the House of Representatives at the parliamentary complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Friday (2/13).

Sarmuji reminded all Golkar Party members to adhere to the party’s four political ethical principles as supporters of the Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming administration.

The first principle, he said, is that all Golkar Party faction policies must support the Prabowo-Gibran Asta Cita program. “We have built a coalition and we are actually pushing for a permanent coalition, which has been declared by our General Chairman, so that inter-faction relations are not on-and-off,” he said.

He cautioned against any member attacking the Prabowo-Gibran administration’s policies. According to him, Golkar will remain in the coalition even when the policies pursued are unpopular. “We want to state on this occasion: never attack the policies of the President and Vice President, as a consequence of our being in the governing coalition,” he explained.

Second, Sarmuji asked all members serving in the Cabinet not to engage in public disputes with one another. He said all input or suggestions should be conveyed before meetings take place. Moreover, he noted that Golkar has significant representation in the Red and White Cabinet, with 8 ministers, 3 deputy ministers, and 1 Governor of the National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas).

“If there are matters that need to be discussed among ourselves, please provide input before the meeting begins. So that among our own colleagues, we don’t end up in friendly fire, so to speak,” he said.

Third, Sarmuji instructed all members not to publicly challenge policies adopted by the government. Nevertheless, he said input and evaluation can still be provided. “Take the Free Nutritious Meal program, for example. Suppose there are weaknesses in it. Our job is to improve it through input conveyed to the relevant minister,” he explained.

The final political ethical principle is that no Golkar member may alter anything that has already been decided or established by the coalition.