Big Coalition Considered A Danger To Democracy, Golkar: They Have Different View Angles

Elite 5 political parties members of KIB and KIR together with President Jokowi during a gathering at the DPP PAN Jakarta on Sunday 2 April. (doc PAN)

JAKARTA - The Golkar Party responded to a number of parties who were against the discourse on forming a major coalition for the 2024 presidential election because it was considered dangerous for democracy. Golkar invites these parties to think positively so that optimistic attitudes can be developed. "If we look at the positive side, the output is positive. If we look at the negative side, the output is also negative," said Golkar Party Secretary General Lodewijk F Paulus at the Golkar Party DPP, Jakarta, Monday, April 10, evening.

The idea of a major coalition came from political parties belonging to the United Indonesia Coalition (KIB) and the Greater Indonesia Awakening Coalition (KIR), all of which consisted of five political parties supporting the government. The deputy chairman of the DPR understands that the parties who counter have different views from the five main coalition initiators. Therefore, Golkar invites these parties to see the good intentions of forming this grand coalition.

"Of course they have a different point of view from our point of view. So I ask, let's think positively, so that optimism can be built," said Lodewijk.

Previously, the Labor Party stated that it would form a 'Small People Coalition' ahead of the 2024 presidential election. The Labor Party sees that the political direction run by a major coalition endangers democracy. This is because this coalition further limits the number of presidential and vice-presidential candidates which are already limited due to the presidential threshold.

The President of the Labor Party, Said Iqbal, also assessed that the formation of a major coalition led to a guided democratic system. According to him, Indonesia should not be determined by a group of political parties who only pursue power, without having a big idea to build Indonesia towards a prosperous country.

"To fight the grand coalition of political parties, the Labor Party will invite non-parliamentary political parties and new political parties to initiate the Coalition of Small People to block a guided democratic system," Said Iqbal said in a written statement, Monday, April 10.