JAKARTA: Newly elected Golkar Party chairman Bahlil Lahadalia warned party executives on Wednesday (Aug 21) to stay the course in supporting the government or face the consequences of going against the will of a “Javanese king”, without elaborating who he meant by the cryptic reference.
Speaking during the party’s national congress in Jakarta, which ran from Aug 20 to 21, the newly installed energy minister was detailing his proposed priorities prior to his election as Golkar chairman for 2024-2029 later on Wednesday.
He noted in his speech that, should he be elected party chair for the next five years, among his priorities was to support the incoming administration of president-elect Prabowo Subianto and vice president-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the eldest son of President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo.
Bahlil, a close aide to the President, said he would put Golkar on the front line in executing Prabowo-Gibran’s programmes. He also vowed to defend them from any parties that might attempt to disrupt the next government as it continued the legacy of President Jokowi and Vice President Ma’ruf Amin.
“We have agreed that Golkar will support the government,” Bahlil said in his speech.
“We have to do better, because we’ll be doomed by this ‘Javanese king’ if we play around.
I’m telling you, don’t try to play around with this thing. It’s terrifying,” he added, without either identifying who he meant by “Javanese king” or clarifying the context of his statement.
During the congress’s first day on Tuesday, interim chairman Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita told those gathered that almost all vote holders had declared their willingness to elect Bahlil as the next chair of the country’s second-largest and oldest party.
Bahlil was the sole candidate in the party’s chairmanship race. A key agenda of Golkar’s two-day national congress was to elect its new leader following the surprise resignation of former chairman Airlangga Hartarto on Aug 11.
Airlangga’s sudden move raised speculation that it was a scheme orchestrated by President Jokowi to install a close ally as Golkar chair as part of his attempt to secure himself a position on the party’s advisory board. Both Jokowi and his office have denied the allegation. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
