28 PKS Expert Council Members Resign as Party Joins KIM Plus
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27 August 2024 19:17 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A total of 28 Expert Council Members of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) have resigned from the party, citing disagreements with the leadership's decision to join the broader Advanced Indonesia Coalition (KIM Plus) in the 2024 regional elections.
One of the resigning members, former special military unit (Kopassus) retired commander Major General Soenarko, confirmed the issue. “We have declared our resignation as PKS Expert Council Members,” he stated on Tuesday, August 27.
Soenarko criticized PKS for betraying its commitment to its articles of association and bylaws (AD/ART). He expressed disappointment with the party's decision to join KIM Plus, a coalition associated with the Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka camp in the presidential election, which he believed had undermined democratic principles.
“PKS [should] uphold truth, honesty, and justice,” he remarked.
Soenarko also objected to PKS's support for the political dynasty, particularly its backing of Bobby Nasution, President Joko Widodo or Jokowi's son-in-law, in the North Sumatra gubernatorial election.
“PKS has always opposed a political dynasty, but now it supports Jokowi's political dynasty,” said Soenarko.
Dozens of PKS Expert Council Members also felt disappointed with the party's stance on not listening to the aspirations of the people. Soenarko cited the example of PKS withdrawing its support for Anies Baswedan and switching to Ridwan Kamil, the candidate supported by KIM Plus, despite Anies' high electability.
According to him, these three reasons were sufficient to convince the expert council to resign from PKS. He emphasized that PKS's current stance is not aligned with the beliefs of the expert council, which is committed to fighting for national change.
Tempo has attempted to contact PKS spokesperson Muhammad Kholid and PKS Advisory Council Chairman Tifatul Sembiring for comment but has not yet received a response.
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