The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and the Great Indonesia Movement Party have reportedly signed a political pact in 2009 – dubbed the Batu Tulis Pact – that included a point where Megawati Soekarnoputri's party promised support for Gerindra chief patron Prabowo Subianto's presidential bid in 2014.

The pact – if verified – could have serious consequences for the PDI-P's ambitions to win next year's elections, despite the emergence of Joko Widodo, the current governor of Jakarta, as its rising star.

News website Liputan6.com said the pact, allegedly signed on May 15, 2009, in Batu Tulis, Bogor, West Java, included an statement indicating that Prabowo agreed to let Megawati run as a presidential candidate and Prabowo as her running mate in the 2009 presidential election.

Asked about the pact, Prabowo – who was leaving for Malaysia to appeal the death sentence currently facing Indonesian maid Wilfrida Soik – declined to clarify, stating instead that if such a pact existed it was made in confidence.

Prabowo briefly stated that Gerindra and the PDI-P were building political communications and that a coalition between both parties was still possible.

Handwritten

In the pact, it was reported that the PDI-P agreed to endorse Prabowo as the presidential candidate in 2014.

"The Batu Tulis Pact in 2009 between Megawati and Prabowo actually exists and it did happen," an anonymous source who attended the meeting where the pact was discussed, told Liputan6.com on Friday.

The source also said that the meeting was attended by 10 people from both parties. Attendees included politicians Megawati and her daughter Puan Maharani, Pramono Anung, Prabowo, Fadli Zon, Martin Hutabarat and businessman Hashim Djojohadikusumo, Prabowo's brother.

Another source told detik.com on Sunday that the pact was handwritten and signed by both Megawati and Prabowo.

Martin Hutabarat, a member of Gerindra's board of advisers, refused to give a clear answer when asked about the existence of the pact but hinted at its existence. "I will not answer it with words, I am just going to answer it with a nod," Martin said as he nodded his head.

He also said he wanted to be careful about the political contract because Gerindra wanted the coalition with the PDI-P to remain harmonious.

Up to Megawati

"Gerindra and PDI-P's biggest contribution is by supporting certain figures that are loved by the public to hold public office and we realized that by pairing Jokowi and Ahok [Basuki Tjahaja Purnama] as Jakarta's governor and deputy governor," Martin said. "And the Gerindra Party will still give the ticket to Prabowo as a presidential candidate in 2014," Martin said.

Senior PDI-P politician Sabam Sirait who also attended the Batu Tulis meeting said he did not know that Megawati agreed to support Prabowo as a presidential candidate in 2014.

"It's true that I attended it. As far as I know it was to discuss a presidential candidate for 2009. But I'm not saying that it was just that. Whether or not there was a discussion about other issues, only Megawati and Prabowo have the answers," Sabam told Liputan6.com.

But Sabam said that there was no explicit agreement between the PDI-P and Gerindra to discuss the 2014 presidential election.

Sabam added that the PDI-P has given Megawati the full authority to decide the party's presidential candidate. "It was agreed that Megawati would decide the presidential candidate, which could be herself or another person. That decision is hers," Sabam said.

Speculation rife

Earlier this year, Gerindra said that there was still a chance that it would form a coalition with Megawati's party to support Prabowo as a presidential candidate in the 2014 election.

Suhardi, the chairman of the party, said anything could happen in the 16 months leading up to the election, despite Megawati's anger toward Prabowo for taking credit for Joko's gubernatorial victory in Jakarta in September last year.

"Regardless of all of the rumors, we will always respect Megawati," Suhardi said. "The logic is that we have a similar vision regarding the importance of nationalism and pro-people policies."

"Yes, it won't be easy," he added. "But as time goes by, Prabowo's popularity is increasing, and nobody can deny that he is the frontrunner." Suhardi added that Gerindra hopes to secure 30 percent of the vote in next year's legislative elections.

Skepticism

Most polls have named Prabowo the most popular candidate for 2014, ahead of Megawati.

However, many say that his bid could end before it begins due to a lack of party support. The PDI-P won 14 percent of the vote in 2009, while Gerindra only garnered 4.5 percent.

Although legislators are still negotiating the voting threshold required to make a presidential bid, many say the current figure of 20 percent will be maintained, meaning anyone intending to run needs support from a party or coalition of parties that have won at least 20 percent of the popular vote in the legislative elections.

Analysts say Prabowo burned his bridges with the PDI-P by glorifying his role in last year's Jakarta gubernatorial race.

Although she did not mention Prabowo by name, Megawati blasted "free riders" that took credit for Joko's victory. Megawati, has yet to announce the party's presidential candidate.

Gerindra has long hoped to get the support of the country's main opposition party as it waits for the right moment to officially declare its chief patron and founder, Prabowo, as its presidential candidate.

Ahmad Muzani, Gerindra's secretary general, said in September that Prabowo had carried out consolidation efforts in the regions and that he was confident about being chosen as the presidential candidate on the party's behalf.

Ahmad acknowledged that while Prabowo was polling well in opinion surveys, his presidential bid could "still fail." He also said he hoped that Prabowo's presidential nomination would earn the PDI-P's support.