NasDem Elite on Tempo Cover Edition Merger: Do Not Belittle
Deputy Chairman of the NasDem Party, Saan Mustopa, responded to the cover of this week’s Tempo magazine edition, which discussed the issue of a merger or amalgamation between the Gerindra Party and the NasDem Party. Saan stated that reporting which criticises public figures is a normal matter.
“Regarding the cover, we must certainly respect and honour each other, right? Criticism is a common thing,” said the Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives at the DPR Complex in Jakarta on Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
The Tempo cover illustration depicts the waning influence of NasDem General Chairman Surya Paloh both within the party and on the national political stage. He is suspected of lacking access to power because NasDem is outside the government.
According to Saan, criticism should be conveyed in a way that is mutually respectful and does not belittle the figures being reported on. He believes this aligns with journalistic guidelines.
“So, there’s no need to belittle each other. Especially in this context, as they are public figures,” he stated.
Tempo magazine’s latest edition revealed that President Prabowo Subianto, also the General Chairman of the Gerindra Party, proposed to NasDem General Chairman Surya Paloh to merge the two parties. The idea emerged after they met at Prabowo’s residence in Hambalang, Bogor, West Java, in mid-February 2026.
If realised, the merger of the two parties would gather nearly 35 million national votes or 23 percent based on the 2024 election results. According to three senior NasDem officials, Surya did not welcome the proposal because he wants to maintain his position and has not yet seen the benefits of the merger for NasDem.
Saan did not deny the existence of this issue. He said that the idea of merging the two parties has not been discussed in depth internally within NasDem. He assessed that merging the two parties at this time would be difficult to realise due to differences in ideology to the visions and missions of each party’s founders.
As for the content of that meeting, he said, only Surya and Prabowo know. He emphasised that NasDem has always supported Prabowo even though it has no ministers in the Merah Putih Cabinet.
“People say there are no cadres in the government, but we still convey that NasDem 100 percent supports the current government and until this period ends,” he stated.