Different Views, SBY-JK Meeting Still Far From The Word "Deal"

SBY-JK/Photo: Antara

JAKARTA - The 6th President of the Republic of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) held a meeting with former Vice President Jusuf Kalla in Cikeas, Bogor, West Java. SBY's personal staff, Ossy Dermawan, said that during the meeting the two national figures discussed the future of Indonesia.

However, apart from discussing the interests of the nation, many thought the meeting was more political in nature.

Political communication expert Emrus Sihombing did not deny that the two national figures discussed the future of Indonesia but did not rule out the possibility that the meeting was related to the determination of the 2024 presidential candidate.

"Of course there will be talks about the goodness of the Indonesian people, but I don't think the meeting will be limited to that topic because it is possible that there will be discussions regarding individual and group interests, in this case the interests of political parties," Emrus told VOI, Friday 24 June.

Emrus saw that the SBY-JK meeting did not necessarily result in a certain “deal” between the two.

“I see that the SBY-JK meeting has not yet been liquidated and it is still too early for us to conclude that there is a coalition between SBY-JK. Because, in my opinion, there must be a few more steps to reach an agreement,” he said

According to Emrus, both SBY and JK have different views regarding the presidential candidate. Because, of course, SBY will nominate his son Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, while JK seems to have chosen another candidate.

"JK if we can say he is King Maker and if we look at his proximity, he will nominate Anies Baswedan. Matters like this must be discussed further and cannot be discussed in just one meeting,” he said.