President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, and his rival, Prabowo Subianto met at Lebak Bulus station. (Image via: The Strait Times)

Cooling Down, Jokowi and Prabowo Finally Meet

Alfonsus Adi Putra
Politics & Economic
News Flash Indonesia
Jul 13, 2019
2327
JAKARTA - Since 09.00 a.m., the Lebak Bulus MRT station has been crowded by enthusiastic people anticipating the scheduled meeting between the 2. Presidential Security Force has been guarding the tapping gate. This is the day when the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, is set to meet his rival and the chairman of the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party, Prabowo Subianto.

After a fiery Presidential Election 2019, it is time for both candidates to shake their hands for a better future and peace among their supporters. For the first time after the election, President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, famously known as Jokowi, was set to meet his rival, Prabowo Subianto on Saturday (13/7).

The meeting was confirmed by the Vice Chief of National Campaign Team for Joko Widodo-Ma’ruf Amin, Abdul Kadir Karding. Anticipated by the Indonesian communities, the meeting might signal reconciliation between the two polarizing parties which means a peace treaty between 2 supporting forces.

Prabowo was set to meet Jokowi at Lebak Bulus MRT station. Prabowo came early, followed by Jokowi. They finally came to the MRT station and both hugged each other, signaling peaceful interactions between the rivals.

At the beginning of their meeting, Jokowi opened the meeting with a powerful sentence for the 2 supporting forces, “No more tadpole (cebong) and bat (kampret), only Indonesia.” Then, Jokowi and Prabowo took the MRT to Senayan station. “Tadpole” is a derogative term for Jokowi’s loyal supporters, while “Bat” is for Prabowo’s.

A funny scene also occurred when a woman broke through the Presidential Security Force to grab the opportunity to shake hands with both Prabowo and Jokowi. Many people, enthusiastic by the meeting that finally happened after a long dispute between the two, also cheered the two by shouting, “I love you both!”

The people in cars and on motorcycles also did not miss the opportunity to capture the close interaction between the two in pictures.

Approaching Senayan station, Prabowo finally congratulated Jokowi for his successful re-election. He added that he apologized if later on there would be criticisms coming from his parties, referring to those actions as “check and balance” in politics. In the end, Prabowo promised to also assist Jokowi for the next 5 years & stated that not only Jokowi but also all Indonesian people are the winners.

Indonesia’s government history noted that the 2014 and 2019 Presidential Elections were the hottest competitions between 2 best gentlemen of the country: Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto. Both competitions were won by Jokowi. Despite the fact that Gerindra filed complaints to Constitutional Court, the final decision is that Jokowi and Ma’ruf Amin are officially President and Vice President of Indonesia. In addition, Jokowi addressed his request to Prabowo and his running mate, Sandiaga Uno, to attend his upcoming inauguration in October.

Source: https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20190713095520-32-411776/dijadwalkan-bertemu-jokowi-prabowo-datang-ke-mrt-lebak-bulus

Politics , Indonesia , Presidential-Election , Joko-Widodo , Prabowo-Subianto , Peace