Budiman Sudjatmiko, a member of the Expert Council of the National Campaign Team (TKN) for the Prabowo-Gibran coalition, expressed his hope that Maruarar Sirait, who recently left the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), would join and support Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming in the 2024 Presidential Election.
“This might be our way of loving Indonesia even better, and hopefully, I wish he joins us,” Budiman stated when asked on Tuesday (16/1).
Budiman believes that Ara, Maruarar’s familiar nickname, will continue to adhere to the teachings of Indonesia’s first President, Sukarno, despite leaving the PDIP.
“Even if he leaves, I believe it’s probably just an administrative matter; he won’t be a PDIP member. But I think his heart, especially considering his family, is definitely Sukarnoist; I can assure you,” he said.
According to Budiman, this decision is not an easy one for Ara. He explained that Ara’s family has been closely tied to the PDIP since childhood.
Ara, who is fondly called Ara, resigned after being a party cadre for decades.
Ara expressed his hope for PDIP to remain a major party and continue to advocate for Pancasila. He did not provide further details about which party he would join in the future but assured that he would follow in the footsteps of President Joko Widodo.
“I choose to follow in the footsteps of Pak Jokowi because I believe he is a leader trusted by the Indonesian people. His public trust is 75-80 percent. He has fought for many things,” Ara said from inside his car.
