Anita Rachman & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) are testing each other's patience as to who will be the first to act in a standoff that could make or break their political ties.
The PKS has three ministers in the president's cabinet, but faces mounting pressure to quit the government coalition and withdraw its officials from their ministerial posts after rejecting the government's proposal to increase the price of subsidized fuel in a House of Representatives vote early on Saturday morning.
Political analysts said both Yudhoyono and the PKS are playing a waiting game for fear that a decision to split will be seen by the public as "not a noble move."
On Monday, Yudhoyono decided to work from his private residence in Cikeas, Bogor, summoning ministers to discuss the impact of a delayed fuel price hike, presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said. He said Yudhoyono would make a decision on the PKS, but added that now was not the time for him to speak to the public about the president's decision.
Despite having the prerogative to fire ministers or kick out coalition members, Yudhoyono said he would talk with other members of his coalition before making any decision. No meeting had taken place as of Monday evening.
The PKS, meanwhile, challenged Yudhoyono to make a decision, saying it was up to him to decide its fate in the coalition and cabinet. However, the party made no move to break its ties with the president or the government coalition.
"If the president wants us out then we'll leave. He doesn't have to discuss it with other coalition members, as he has the authority to decide anything," said Mahfudz Siddiq, PKS deputy secretary general.
Jimly Asshiddiqie, a former chief of the Constitutional Court, said both sides were eager to look gracious and noble in the public's eyes and were waiting for the other to make the first move. "They are in a waiting game. However, the government should just get the PKS out if it is for the interest of the country," he said.
Observers, however, suggested that Golkar will take advantage if the PKS withdraws its ministers, as the party is known to have its eye on the lucrative communication and information portfolio ahead of 2014 elections. "Golkar will capitalize on PKS's absence," said Iberamsjah, a political professor at the University of Indonesia.
PKS has three ministers in the cabinet: Communication and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring, Agriculture Minister Suswono and Social Affairs Minister Salim Segaf Al Jufri.
Priyo Budi Santoso, a senior Golkar politician, dismissed the suggestion, saying his party would not be involved in determining the fate of PKS cabinet posts. "If there is a cabinet reshuffle, we won't be part of it. That's entirely in the president's hands," he said.
Priyo, who is also House deputy speaker, said Democrats have every reason to be mad at the PKS. The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the biggest opposition party, said Yudhoyono should kick the PKS out of the coalition and the cabinet if he was uncomfortable with the party's stance.