Top National: Prabowo Invites Former Presidents, US Attack Stance

Several Tempo national reports attracted high reader attention as of the early hours of Wednesday, 4 March 2026. Here is a summary of the three most popular reports:

Prabowo Invites Party Leaders, Former Presidents, and Businesspeople

A number of party chairmen, former presidents, and business figures attended President Prabowo Subianto’s invitation at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, on Tuesday evening, 3 March 2026.

Chairmen of parties in the Koalisi Indonesia Maju Plus included Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono; Zulkifli Hasan; Surya Paloh; Abdul Muhaimin Iskandar; and Bahlil Lahadalia. PDIP, a party outside the coalition, was represented by Puan Maharani.

Subsequently, former Presidents and their deputies included Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono; Joko Widodo; Jusuf Kalla; and Ma’ruf Amin. The gathering also included business figures such as Anindya Bakrie, Shinta Kamdani, and several ministers from the Red and White Cabinet.

Secretary to the Cabinet, Lieutenant Colonel Teddy Indra Wijaya, said the meeting was intended to discuss the geopolitical situation. “To exchange views and foster goodwill. The President wishes to exchange perspectives with the figures,” he said at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, on Tuesday.

Megawati Unable to Attend Prabowo’s Invitation at the Palace

Megawati Soekarnoputri, chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), did not attend the meeting.

PDIP Central Leadership Council chair Deddy Yevri Hanteru Sitorus said Megawati had been invited to attend a meeting with the Head of State. However, the fifth President was absent as she has been out of town since last week.

“I am unable to attend, as she is participating in internal events planned in Bali for some time,” Deddy said when contacted on Tuesday, 3 March 2026.

According to Deddy, Megawati’s activities in Bali had been planned before Prabowo’s invitation was issued. She would return to Jakarta by the end of the week, so she could not attend.

PDIP Politician: Where is Prabowo’s Condolence to Khamenei?

PDIP politician Mohamad Guntur Romli questioned why President Prabowo Subianto had not expressed condolences on the death of Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in the wake of the weekend military operation by the United States and Israel.

Via his X account @GunRomli, he reminded that Indonesia and Iran have diplomatic relations and cooperation at international levels. Romli allowed Tempo to quote his tweet.

“Strangely, when a head of state of a friendly country dies, Prabowo does not express sadness or condolences,” he said on Tuesday, 3 March 2026.

He argued that Prabowo’s initiative to travel to Tehran, the capital of Iran, to act as a mediator in a conflict is laudable as a sign of concern for peace.

But how can one be a mediator and go to Tehran without offering condolences?” said the former PDIP spokesperson.