JK-SBY Meeting Seen as Ice Breaker in Midst of Political Tension

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A Political expert from the University of Padjajaran, Muradi, views the meeting that took place between Vice President Jusuf Kalla and former president and current Democrat Party Chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) aimed at calming down the political tension in the wake of the 2019 presidential election. 

Furthermore, Muradi said that he sees no potential rupture between JK and President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo. “The government hopes that the presidential election will end calmly without political turbulence. So the meeting was for that exact purpose,” said Muradi on Wednesday, June 27. 

As previously reported, JK and his wife Mufidah Kalla met SBY at the Democrat Party Chairman’s house in Kuningan, Jakarta on Monday, June 25. Both claim there was no discussion on political issues during the meeting with SBY’s wife Ani Yudhoyono and their son Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono. 

“[SBY] is a brother to me, a close friend and former employee,” said Jusuf Kalla. The Vice President also plans to meet with a member of Indonesia’s opposition Party, Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), this evening.

According to Muradi, the political safari that JK is currently undergoing is a part of the government’s attempt to reduce the political tension that has been increasing in the wake of the 2019 presidential election. 

He views that what the VP is doing is similar to what President Jokowi did by meeting the “Kamisan” protesters several weeks ago. 

Furthermore, Muradi saw that it would be impossible for Jokowi to hold a meeting with SBY or government opposition parties. He argued that the resistance from internal members of the opposition party against Jokowi is too great to reduce. 

“We can see that JK [is the neutral party] when the VP mentioned SBY as his former employee. In this instance, JK feels he is a part of the political differences and both share the same mutual friendship,” said Muradi.

M Rosseno Aji