NasDem Politician Deems Merger Issue with Gerindra Logically Flawed

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - A member of the Indonesian House of Representatives from the NasDem Party faction, Arif Rahman, considers the issue regarding a merger or amalgamation of his party with the Gerindra Party to be beyond reason and logically flawed.

“If good relations are interpreted as a merger, then that is a logical fallacy,” Arif stressed to reporters on Monday (13/4/2026).

According to Arif, the personal relationship between the two party chairmen cannot be assumed to be a plan for party unification.

“How could the NasDem Party, which was founded 15 years ago and is full of sacrifices, be merged just because it is not part of the government coalition? This is beyond reason,” Arif stated.

He emphasised that his party is not easily merged with another party.

NasDem also has political responsibilities towards millions of voters who gave it a mandate in the 2024 General Election.

“The NasDem Party is not a public limited company. We have accountability to the people who voted for us, amounting to 14,660,516 votes or 9.6 percent in the 2024 General Election,” he explained.

On that basis, Arif expressed surprise at the emergence of the NasDem-Gerindra merger issue.

This member of Commission IV of the House of Representatives suspects that there are parties who dislike it and want to degrade the NasDem Party.

“The meeting between Mr Surya Paloh and Mr Prabowo is said to have occurred in mid-February, but why is it only being published now? What is the motive behind all this?” he asked.

It is known that recently there has been widespread talk of the possibility of a merger between the NasDem Party and the Gerindra Party.

The Deputy General Chairman of the NasDem Party, Saan Mustopa, previously emphasised that the emergence of such discourse is a normal occurrence in political dynamics.