By: Hayati) *
The meeting between Gerindra Party Chairperson Prabowo Subianto and PDI-P Chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri was decorated with smiles and laughter. It is known that Prabowo arrived at Megawati’s residence on Jalan Teuku Umar, Menteng, Central Jakarta at around 12:30 WIB, on July 24, 2019. He came accompanied by Gerndra Party Secretary General Ahmad Muzani and Gerindra Party DPP Chairman Edhy Prabowo.
After getting out of his car, Prabowo was welcomed by PDI-P politicians who were also children of Megawati, Puan Maharani and Prananda Prabowo.
After shaking hands with Puan, Prabowo approached Megawati who was waiting at her doorstep.
The two figures then talked for a while then greeted the media crew who covered the moment.
On this warm occasion, there was also the Head of BIN Budi Gunawan and PDI-General Secretary P Hasto Kristiyanto. Megawati then invited Prabowo to enter the house and invite for lunch.
Previously, Prabowo Spokesperson Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak said the meeting between the two figures would last 4 eyes. The meeting was a friendship aimed at strengthening national life and caring for Indonesianness.
Despite the different coalitions in the 2019 Presidential Election, the relationship between Prabowo and Megawati has never been a problem, because both of them have been paired in political contestations, namely in the 2009 Presidential Election.
Megawati said that the planned meeting with Prabowo Subianto had been prepared for a long time. However, according to him, the plan has not been planned because of the busyness of the two biggest party leaders in Indonesia.
Megawati also said that the meeting with Prabowo was very fluid and full of warmth. Especially when Prabowo gets a dish of fried rice cooked by Megawati, which is her favorite food.
In addition to Prabowo, Former Indonesian President KH Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) also favored fried rice, a concoction of daughter from Indonesia’s First President Soekarno.
The former 6th President of the Republic of Indonesia also said that Prabowo continued to collect his homemade fried rice, he said, fried rice made by Megawati was very delicious. When Megawati said this, Prabowo seemed to hold his stomach with both hands.
Prabowo came to Megawati’s residence at lunch time. Of course the meeting starts first at the dinner table. After the meeting, Prabowo also did not forget to praise the fried rice made by Megawati. It was suspected that Prabowo had indeed been known as a fan of Megawati’s cuisine. Even when together watching pencak silat at the 2018 Asian Games, Prabowo also claimed to miss Megawati’s fried rice.
This longing paid off during lunch during his meeting with Megawati at her residence. Prabowo even claimed to add portions when finally enjoying the fried rice.
This seems to indicate the politics of fried rice which can make the atmosphere runny. Megawati also said that the advantage of women in becoming politicians is to make cooking as a weapon used for the purposes of political diplomacy.
Fried Rice, according to Megawati, was felt to be very effective in reuniting the views of the two people who had been paired in the 2009 presidential election.
Although Prabowo and Megawati then differed during the 2014 presidential election, because at that time PDI-P carried Jokowi and then faced head to head with Prabowo. The fried rice banquet is considered capable of maintaining friendship between the two.
In the banquet we certainly know that differences of opinion or differences in political directions are common in politics. But after the contestation is over all different parties must remain united for the common good.
The Indonesian people should have taken the example in this meeting, where with the banquet of fried rice, the rivalry between the PDI-P and Gerindra in the political world did not leave a grudge and hatred between the two.
This certainly bodes well in the dynamics of political parties in Indonesia, which must be ready to compete but must also be ready to maintain good relations for the benefit of the nation.
Indonesia has received an important lesson, so as not to place political affairs higher than the affairs of national unity. This is considering that each of the supporting political parties felt they had contributed during the 2019 Presidential Election.
) * The author is a sociopolitical observer