VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

It is still about a  week ahead before the inauguration of the Indonesian President and Vice-President which is scheduled to take place on October 20, 2019. But the signal that non-coalition  parties will join the Jokowi-Ma'ruf Amin coalition, is increasingly clear. President Joko Widodo has invited two chairmen of these  non-coalition parties to discuss their possibility to joing the government.

Last Thursday (October 10), President Joko Widodo met Democratic Party Chairperson, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the State Palace in Jakarta. On Friday (October 11), it was the turn of the General Chairperson of the Gerindra Party, Prabowo Subianto who was invited by President Joko Widodo to the State Palace. The President admitted that in the two meetings, he discussed the possibility of the Democratic Party and Gerindra to enter into his second period of his administration. The meeting certainly became a new chapter of President Joko Widodo's relationship with Prabowo and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who were in a different camp during the 2019 elections.

It is not wrong if President Joko Widodo calls for Gerindra and Democrat parties to join the coalition government later. Gerindra and Democrats are the two major parties outside the coalition of Joko Widodo-Ma'ruf.

Although Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono did not provide information for the outcome of the meeting, in his contemplative speech some time ago, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono recommended Democratic cadres and the public to support the Jokowi-Ma'ruf Amin government. In fact, Democratic Party Secretary General, Hinca Pandjaitan told reporters on Friday (11/10)  that  his party is ready to join the cabinet if requested.

Meanwhile before President Joko Widodo, Prabowo said that he is ready to join the government coalition if needed. If in the end his cadres do not engage in  the government, Prabowo promised that Gerindra would still help the government but in a different way.

The possibility of Gerindra and Democratic parties to join the government is believed to change the map of the coalition in the next five years. It is certain that there will be seats in the Jokowi-Ma'ruf cabinet for the cadres of the two parties. That means that the Democratic Party and Gerindra, which originally would become the opposition parties  and are expected to be a counterweight to the Jokowi-Ma'ruf government, will support the government.

In a democratic system, the opposition is very important. Its existence is needed to control the government. So, the possibility of  tyranny  can be minimized. However so far, the political system in Indonesia does not recognize the opposition party. Even in deciding various problems, both in the DPR, the MPR and other forums, Indonesians tend to seek deliberations to reach consensus rather than voting which is considered a last resort. Whereas in a democracy, voting is very normal and natural.