TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Vice President Jusuf Kalla was reported to have met with Amien Rais, chairman of the National Mandate Party's (PAN) Advisory Council, in Jakarta's Dharmawangsa Hotel, last night. Kalla had dinner with Rais, accompanied by Minister of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Yuddy Chrisnandi and Minister of Agrarian and Spatial Planning Ferry Mursyidan Baldan.
To the media, Amien said the meeting was a casual one where he congratulated Joko Widodo and Kalla for being sworn into office as president and vice-president for the next five years. When Jokowi and Kalla was inaugurated at the MPR building last week, Amien—known to be a supporter of Prabowo—was not present.
"I also congratulated [Kalla] on the formation of the Jokowi-Kalla Working Cabinet," Amien said after meeting the vice president for about two and a half hours.
Amien said he agrees with the "work, work and work" jargon used by the cabinet, saying that Jokowi-Kalla's policies must be "pro-people" and courageous in battling tax and oil mafias. "If those two things are done, the Red and White Coalition will definitely support [the government]," said Amien.
This was not Kalla's first meeting with an official from a Prabowo-supporting party. On Friday last week, the vice president met Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie at Kalla's office.
FRANSISCO ROSARIANS