Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – The potential inclusion of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) in the broad coalition supporting Prabowo Subianto remains a contentious issue, but the president-elect maintains that the Muslim-based party is welcome to join, according to a close aide on Wednesday.

The PKS supported rival candidate Anies Baswedan in the February 14 presidential election, but it's common in Indonesian political competition for former adversaries to become post-election allies. Two other parties in the Anies camp, the National Democratic Party (Nasdem) and the National Awakening Party (PKB), have indicated full support for the future Prabowo presidency.

However, the coalition already includes the Gelora Party, founded by disgruntled PKS executives following protracted internal rifts and a breakaway maneuver several years ago. Gelora Party leaders have repeatedly advised Prabowo against accepting the PKS into the coalition.

Despite these developments, an aide said that Prabowo continues to communicate with the PKS, prioritizing "national unity above anything else."

"Communications with the PKS have been ongoing since before the election on February 14 and continue to this day because Mr. Prabowo always prioritizes the unity of Indonesia and of the political elites," said Rahayu Saraswati Djojohadikusumo, deputy chairman of Prabowo's Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra).

Rahayu, who is also Prabowo's niece, emphasized that the coalition is "very open to any party joining" based on agreements among party leaders in the coalition.

Gelora Party Deputy Chairman Fahri Hamzah recently said that opposition to the PKS's inclusion was not driven by personal feuds.

Fahri noted that PKS is an unlikely ally due to its history of "imposing ideas without seeking ideal compromises."

PKS has been in opposition to the Joko Widodo government for the past decade after being a government partner during the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono presidency in the previous decade.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/prabowo-remains-open-to-pks-inclusion-despite-internal-rejectio