TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - United Development Party (PPP) deputy chairman Dimyati Natakusumah said the permanent coalition formed by Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa will not impede his party to act on its own.
If Joko Widodo and Jusuf Kalla win the presidential election, the party is ready to join the cabinet. “If we are invited, we will join,” said Dimyati on Monday.
Dimyati continued that his party will not stray from its path that has been created since the reform of joining the cabinet instead of being opposition. “If we are in the government, we can work directly for the people,” he said.
The PPP is one of the supporters of Prabowo-Hatta. The other being the Golkar Party, the National Mandate Party and the Justice Prosperous Party as well as the Crescent Star Party. All of these parties have signed a memorandum of understanding about permanent coalition.
However, the permanent coalition did not gain full support from the parties backing Prabowo. Several Golkar Party cadres said they should support Jokowi-JK as the pair is more likely to win the election.
According to Dimyati, the MoU will become obstacle in PPP’s politics as it also involves other interests such as religion. “It all depends on situation and condition. Conflict of interests for the public could happen,” he said.
TRI SUHARMAN
