Zulhas Denies Reports of President Convening Coalition Party Leaders

PAN Chairman Zulkifli Hasan has stated that reports regarding the President of the Republic of Indonesia, who is also the Chairman of Gerindra, Prabowo Subianto, convening the chairmen of coalition political parties are hoaxes.

“Hoax, hoax, hoax, hoax, there is none,” said Zulhas at the Presidential Palace Complex in Jakarta on Wednesday (16/09).

When asked again whether the meeting had taken place or not, he denied it once more. He even questioned the source of the information.

“No one said that, it is made up,” he said. “The President is not gathering the parties,” he added.

Rumours have recently been circulating that the chairmen of coalition political parties met to discuss the revision of Law Number 7 of 2017 concerning General Elections. This was partially confirmed by the Secretary General of the Gerindra Party, Sugiono, who acknowledged the meeting.

Sugiono stated that the meeting was only attended by parties within the government coalition, excluding the PDIP. However, he declined to disclose the specific time and location of the meeting.

“As far as I know, it involved the chairmen of the parties in the government coalition,” said Sugiono following a closed-door meeting at Commission I of the DPR, the parliamentary complex, on Wednesday (16/09).

As of the time of writing, there has been no confirmation or response from the PDIP regarding the meeting. CNNIndonesia.com contacted the Vice Chairman and members of Commission II of the DPR from the PDIP, Aria Bima and Deddy Sitorus, but has yet to receive a response.

Meanwhile, Sugiono added that the results of the meeting allegedly included an agreement to change the parliamentary threshold from 4 per cent to 5 per cent. His party is considering this to ensure future elections can be more effective and efficient.

“But Gerindra also agrees on the 5 per cent threshold. As Golkar also expressed yesterday, and PKS also expressed, I believe that is what we agreed upon,” said Sugiono.