TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The plenary meeting of the Golkar Party on Tuesday evening decided to suspend Aburizal "Ical" Bakrie’s from the party's leadership.
Following the meeting, Ical held a press conference at Bakrie Tower, in which the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party's chief patron Prabowo Subianto was seen entering the tower.
Political expert from the Centre for Strategic of International Studies (CSIS), J. Kristiadi, said that the meeting between Ical and Prabowo signaled a possible political transaction between both figures.
“Ical might ask for help from Prabowo as the chief of the Red and White coalition to help resolve the problem," he said.
Prabowo is likely to help Ical, he added, as apparent in the former's move to pay Ical a visit at Bakrie Tower.
"Prabowo can use his power," he said.
Golkar politician Tantowi Yahya said the meeting between Ical and Prabowo was a normal discussion on coalition matters. “It was a regular meeting, it was scheduled long before,” he said.
INDRI MAULIDAR
