PDIP Responds to Meeting of Coalition Party Secretaries-General

Senior PDIP officials have spoken out regarding the meeting of secretaries-general from parties in the Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka government coalition, held as part of the 81st Independence Day commemorations on Thursday evening (13/8).

PDIP Deputy Secretary-General Utut Adianto said he was not concerned and understood the meeting of coalition party secretaries-general as part of the political game. “In my view, people meeting is part of the game, it is normal. They are uniting, perhaps wanting a shared vision in facing the state budget, wanting a shared vision in the financial note,” Utut said after the MPR Annual Session at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta on Friday (14/8).

Nevertheless, Utut said PDIP affirmed its stance of remaining proportional by supporting and criticising government policies. “We do support, but if something is felt to be inappropriate, we provide criticism. But not attacking, just providing criticism,” he said.

Meanwhile, PDIP DPP Chairman Djarot Saiful Hidayat did not take issue with his party’s absence from the meeting of coalition party secretaries-general. He said PDIP had affirmed its position of being outside the government. “PDIP Perjuangan, even though it is outside the government, continues to criticise policies, especially from the perspective of the application of current government policies, by listening to the voice of the people,” he said.

The secretaries-general of government coalition parties gathered on the evening before the 2026 MPR Annual Session, which was part of the 81st Independence Day commemorations on Thursday (13/8). The meeting was reportedly held at the official residence of Foreign Minister and Gerindra Party Secretary-General Sugiono in the ministerial complex of Widya Chandra, South Jakarta.

Those in attendance included Golkar Party Secretary-General Muhammad Sarmuji, PKB Secretary-General Hasanuddin Wahid, Democratic Party Secretary-General Herman Khaeron, PAN Secretary-General Eko Hendro Purnomo, also known as Eko Patrio, PKS Secretary-General Muhammad Kholid, NasDem Secretary-General Hermawi Taslim, as well as secretaries-general of non-parliamentary parties.

In a written statement, Sugiono described the meeting as a gathering to strengthen communication among coalition parties ahead of the 81st Independence Day. “We gathered in a family atmosphere to welcome the Independence Day of the Republic of Indonesia while reflecting on the coalition’s journey during nearly two years of the administration of President Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka,” he said.