Jakarta – Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin on Wednesday held a meeting with senior politician and chairman of the NasDem Party Surya Paloh at the ministry's headquarters in Central Jakarta.
Sjafrie described the one-hour meeting with Surya as part of an outreach to politicians in a bid to "maintain national stability" and "protect the country's sovereignty", which is under the purview of his ministry.
"On the first issue, national defense and on the second, state sovereignty, these are all jobs assumed by the Defense Ministry. As for the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs, it is a matter of structure and substance," Sjafrie was quoted by Kompas.com.
Until recently, the task of dealing with leaders of political parties was handled by the Coordinating Ministry for Political and Security Affairs, but in recent weeks Sjafrie had stepped up to handle the work following the sacking of Budi Gunawan from the position in early September.
Budi was dismissed for bungling the response towards a nationwide unrest in late August following the death of ojol (online motorcycle transportation) driver Affan Kurniawan in an anti-government protest.
To replace Budi, a former chief of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) and a confidant of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, President Prabowo Subianto installed 76-year-old Gen. (ret) Djamari Chaniago.
Speaking after Sjafrie, Surya said that there would be follow-up meetings to discuss problems currently faced by the nation.
"There will be more meetings [...] some of the issues communicated here may not always be reported by the media," Surya told reporters after the meeting.
Sjafrie, a close aide to Prabowo, is also scheduled to hold a meeting with leadership of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) this Friday.