Defence minister and president-elect Prabowo Subianto gestures as he attends the annual State of the Nation Address at the Senayan legislative complex in Jakarta on Aug 16, 2024. - Photo: Reuters/Pool
JAKARTA: President-elect Prabowo Subianto said on Saturday (Aug 24) that politics was necessary to improve people’s welfare, but denounced politicians whose hunger for power had put their own interests above the people.
Speaking at the National Mandate Party (PAN) national congress in Jakarta, he said that politicians and political parties asked for the mandate for power from the people, therefore they must put the people above themselves.
“We come to the people [in elections] to ask for the people’s mandate [...] that’s what we do as political parties. But some have an endless thirst for power.
"And, with the powers [bestowed upon them], seek to pursue interests outside of the people’s. This will disrupt or harm a nation,” he said, without naming specific politicians or political parties.
The Gerindra Party chairman made the speech after a tumultuous week that saw nationwide protests demanding the House of Representatives drop plans to amend the Regional Elections Law.
In a speedy deliberation process, the lawmakers had attempted to reinstall articles that would maintain the dominance of the Onward Indonesia Coalition (KIM) in the November regional elections and make President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s youngest son Kaesang Pangarep eligible to run in a gubernatorial election.
The rushed revisions were made after the Constitutional Court issued two rulings on the elections law that sought to break the political cartel practices by KIM and the special treatment for Kaesang to run in the November elections.
The waves of big protests on Thursday forced the lawmakers to cancel the deliberation and vow to abide by the court rulings.
Prabowo, in his Saturday speech, said he would not intervene in the regional elections and would leave it to all political parties to decide.
“No intervention. I guarantee that. I meet Pak Jokowi many times, he never asks me to [nominate anyone],” he said. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
