Polemic Postponement Of Elections, PDIP Reminds Luhut Of New Order History: Be Careful, People Will Be Angry

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Panjaitan (Photo: Irfan Meidianto/VOI)

JAKARTA - The chairman of the PDIP DPP, Andreas Hugo Pareira, criticized the statement by the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Menko Marves) Luhut Binsar Panjaitan regarding the data on the aspirations of the people who want a postponement of the 2024 election.

He also reminded all parties not to plunge Joko Widodo into claims that allow the president's term to be extended or delay the election.

"Be careful in the name of the people just to maintain power. Then the people will be angry," said Andreas via text message, Sunday, March 12. Andreas then alludes to the history of the New Order era. The member of the DPR RI for the NTT constituency explained that the Chairperson of the MPR, Harmoko, in 1997 reported to the second President of the Republic of Indonesia, Suharto.

The report stated that the people still wanted Suharto to be elected by the MPR as President of the Republic of Indonesia for the seventh term. However, after a year everything changed. Harmoko in 1998, who knocked the hammer off Suharto as President of the Republic of Indonesia after the great general resigned on May 22, 1998.

"Let us learn from history. Do not violate the constitution just to maintain power," said Andreas reminded. Previously, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan spoke about the discourse of postponing the election until the term of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) was extended. Luhut claims to have data on the aspirations of the Indonesian people who want a postponement of the 2024 election.

This was conveyed by Luhut in the #closethedoor podcast on Deddy Corbuzier's YouTube channel, as seen, Friday, March 11. In his conversation with Deddy, Luhut explained that his party had big data which recorded public aspirations on social media regarding the 2024 General Election.

"Because of this, we have big data, I want to see, we have big data, from that big data, we grab around 110 million. Yes, 110 million, various kinds, Facebook, all kinds, because people are on Twitter, about 110 million people," said Luhut.

From this data, Luhut explained that the lower middle class wanted a calm socio-political condition. The people, said Luhut, do not want political noise and prefer economic conditions to be improved.

"In the middle to lower class, basically we want to be calm, we want to talk about the economy, we don't want it to be like yesterday. Yesterday we had a toothache with a camphor, cebong lah, kadrun, that's not good. so," he explained.

Still from the big data claimed by Luhut, he said that the Indonesian people criticized the Rp 100 trillion more funds for the 2024 election. The hundreds of trillions of funds were indeed proposed by the KPU to the DPR-government.

"Nowadays like this, he said, we are trying to catch it from the public (from these data), yes it says we want to spend more than Rp 100 trillion to vote, this is a situation like this, what are you doing for the presidential election and regional elections, right? simultaneously," he said.

Luhut said that the party's reluctance to hold the 2024 general election should have arrested the public's aspiration regarding the reluctance to hold the 2024 election. According to him, the party should seriously consider the aspiration to postpone the election.

"Yes, that's what the people said. Well, this niche is in the Democratic Party, there is the Gerindra Party, PDIP, there is PKB, there is Golkar, there are niches everywhere. Yes, he will see which one hear our voices."

Luhut claims that there are many examples of other countries delaying elections or extending presidential terms. However, Luhut emphasized President Jokowi's stance regarding the discourse on postponing the election and extending the term of office, namely remaining obedient to the constitution.