Apriadi Gunawan and Ridwan Max Sijabat, Medan – The Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) held their first joint public gathering here Tuesday, paving the way for the country's two largest political parties to form a strategic coalition to contest local elections and the 2009 presidential election.
An estimated 12,000 supporters and executives from both parties attended the gathering at the Tiara Hotel. Supporters wearing red and yellow uniforms greeted senior figures from both parties by shouting "Yes", the coalition's slogan for the North Sumatra gubernatorial election to be held in June 2008.
Two key figures addressing the mass gathering were Taufik Kiemas, chairman of the advisory council of PDI-P, and his Golkar counterpart Surya Paloh.
Also attending the meeting were PDI-P Secretary General Pramono Anung Wibowo and his Golkar counterpart Soemarsono, chairman of the PDI-P faction in the House of Representatives Tjahjo Kumolo and his Golkar counterpart Priyo Budi Santoso and a number of legislators from the two parties.
Taufik hailed the gathering as being a historical event signifying the two parties' commitment to defending the unitary state of Indonesia, the state ideology Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution and a pluralist society.
"North Sumatra, home to numerous ethnic groups, religions and social groupings, is the first province where our two parties have declared their joint commitment," he said.
Taufik, the husband of PDI-P chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri, called on party supporters and the public to defend pluralism, saying both parties were concerned over an increasing trend to shift away from national consensus and values stipulated by the country's founding fathers.
Surya Paloh agreed, saying the two parties were against efforts by certain groups to change the nation's pluralist commitment and values as stipulated in the state's ideology and the constitution.
"The two nationalist parties strongly disagree with any ideology or values other than Pancasila, the constitution or pluralism, which have become Indonesia's way of life and thinking," he said.
Surya said the joint gathering represented wider cooperation between the two parties in dealing with national issues and political events.
He criticized an unspecified national leader, saying he perceived democracy as a goal, whereas it should be seen as a tool or means by which the public could achieve progress.
Golkar deputy chairman Burhanuddin Napitupulu said the meeting in Medan would be followed with others in Palembang and Yogyakarta.
The parties will establish dialogue in the near future to ensure the success of certain political bills, to win local elections and run in the 2009 general elections.
"Bilateral dialog will give us a common stance on many issues and this will be quite effective in maintaining the fundamental values of Pancasila, the constitution and pluralism," he said.
Aside from the two parties nominating Megawati in the 2004 presidential election, both are part of a major coalition hoping to win the gubernatorial election in Jakarta. They are also preparing a joint strategy to contend gubernatorial elections in North Sumatra, South Sumatra and Yogyakarta next year.
Sources from both parties said the Medan meeting also signified their joint concern over the increasing presence of sectarian parties believed to be behind the issuance of sharia bylaws and certain bills negating pluralism.