Jakarta – President-elect Prabowo Subianto stated that whoever is elected in the upcoming 2024 Regional Elections (Pilkada) will not be an issue. He expressed his confidence that the people can make their own choices without any interference regarding whom they should vote for.
Prabowo made this remark while attending the Closing of the 6th Congress of the National Mandate Party (PAN) in Jakarta on Saturday, August 24. According to Prabowo, he is leaving the matter of the regional elections to the younger generation within the party.
“As for the rest, it’s not something of principle. Regarding Pilkada, let’s leave it to the juniors; whoever is chosen, it doesn’t matter. There’s no interference—I guarantee there’s none,” Prabowo said.
He also assured that there is no interference from President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) concerning the regional elections. Prabowo urged the public not to be swayed or incited by any provocations.
“I guarantee you that President Jokowi has no hidden agenda, no instructions. Never. The people have empowered us all, so let’s work together. We don’t want to be fooled again, to be pitted against each other, to be incited. We want peace. Your future is bright, the future of Indonesia is bright, but we must remain vigilant. Eling lan waspodo [Be mindful and watchful],” Prabowo emphasized.
In closing, Prabowo shared an analogy about building a bridge. He used this to illustrate the importance of cooperation in achieving goals, which he believes is the essence of democracy in Indonesia—deliberation to reach a consensus.
“Let me share this analogy: in a village, there’s a fairly wide river. Our children have to cross it to go to school, which is dangerous. Finally, we decided to build a bridge. Let’s work together to build this bridge and invite everyone to contribute. This is how we build a bridge: there may be criticism, and that’s okay. We want to build a bridge that’s good and strong—please contribute. But if you don’t want to help, if all you do is criticize, we’ll say to those who want to help, ‘Please, go ahead.’ To those who don’t, just sit down and watch,” Prabowo concluded. (RR)
