Aprianus Doni Tolok, Jakarta – Today, a new political party will be declared in Indonesia. The new party is called the People's Justice and Prosperity Party or Prima.
The Prima Party declaration, which coincided with the commemoration of Pancasila Day, is scheduled to take place at 7 pm today. Congratulations from national figures and public officials have already started flowing in, both on social media and in the form of wreaths of flowers.
Prima's Twitter account @prima_or_id has uploaded congratulations from several figures including Democrat Party General Chairperson Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, Democrat Party leader M. Andi Arief and the governor and deputy governor of Jakarta, Anies Baswedan and Ahmad Riza Patria.
"Congratulations on the declaration of the Prima Party prima_or_id. Hopefully the party will pass the party verification process and be able to fight alongside the Democrat Party", tweeted former Democratic People's Party (PRD) member Andi Arief on his Twitter account @Andiarief_ on Tuesday June 1.
On its official website (https://www.prima.or.id/), it states that the Prima Party was established on July 20, 2020 and initiated by the PRD and several social movement groups, trade unions, activists, Islamic religious figures, small- and medium-size businesspeople, professionals and youth.
Using the jargon "The Party of the Ordinary People: The 99 Percent", Prima adheres to a nationalist, religious and populist political platform.
The Party, which has former National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) Principle Secretary retired Army Major General Gautama Wiranegara chairing its Advisory Board and is headed by Agus Jabo Priyono as chairperson and Dominggus Oktavianus as deputy chairperson, will fight to realise the ideals of independence, namely a society which is just and prosperous.
Meanwhile, Priyono and Oktavianus themselves are still recorded as being leading members of the PRD with Priyono still holding the position of PRD general chairperson and Oktavianus the PRD's secretary general.
There is no written explanation however as to whether the Prima Party represents a metamorphosis of the PRD or is a party wing of the PRD.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Hari Ini Partai Rakyat Adil dan Makmur Deklarasi, Metamorfosa PRD?".]