By: Andi Ardil *
Presidential candidate number 2 Prabowo Subianto was unable to attend the national consolidation of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) which was held on Wednesday (30/1) at the Grand Sahid Jaya Hotel, Sudirman, Central Jakarta. PKS Chairman, Sohibul Iman said, “Prabowo is actually ready to come, but now Pak Prabowo is sick,” he said.
In the PKS national consolidation program schedule, Prabowo is scheduled to fill political speeches at 11:45 – 12:15 WIB. The absence of the Chairman of the Gerindra Party was clarified by Sohibul. Sohibul stated that Prabowo was absent because of illness. In the composition of the National Consolidation program, DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan and Philosopher Rocky Gerung are also scheduled to give a speech in front of PKS cadres and candidates.
Deputy General Chairperson of the Gerindra Party DPP Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said that candidate number 02 Prabowo Subianto had a cold so he needed a rest for health recovery. His party said that the flu that attacked Prabowo was rather heavy, so Prabowo had to take a break from all activities that were quite energy-intensive. According to Dasco, Prabowo if he catches the flu it is rather long to recover. Dasco also denied that there had been speculation developing in the community. But he also stressed that the illness suffered by Prabowo did not interfere with the political activities of the General Chair of the Gerindra Party because it was believed that the illness he suffered would recover soon.
Because of the physical conditions that did not allow Prabowo to attend the PKS National Consolidation, the time the committee had prepared for Prabowo was immediately shifted by the next program, political speech by DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan. Gerindra Party Secretary General Ahmad Muzani admitted that presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto was ill. So Prabowo was forced to limit activities and cancel a number of political agendas. According to Muzani, Prabowo continued to carry out limited activities. Muzani himself admitted that he had only met Prabowo twice.
Deputy Chairperson of Gerindra Party Fadli Zon also spoke, Fadli denied rumors that Prabowo deliberately reasoned so he would not attend the important agenda. He stressed that Prabowo was sick and himself also requested that the former Kopassus Danjen rest. Prabowo’s support also got from his supporting party, PAN, which prayed that Prabowo could be active again. Ahead of this second debate, he indeed must be fresher and better. Certainly very good if given a break.
On the other hand, Secretary General of the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) DPP, Raja Juli Antoni, said he was worried about the health condition of candidate President Prabowo Subianto, who was reportedly suffering from a cold. However, Toni was suspicious that the flu suffered by the former Kopassus Danjen was due to stress thinking about the preparation for the second round of the 2019 Presidential Election debate. He suspected that he was sick because he knew the information would no longer get a debate grid from the KPU. So maybe he is a bit stressed, “he said.
Even so, Toni prayed that Prabowo could recover from his flu. So, it can focus on preparing for the second round of the presidential election debate later. “We pray that Mr. Prabowo will recover quickly, hopefully the Flu and the stress experienced will decrease and be able to prepare well,” he said.
Prabowo received many prayers to get well soon. Not only from friends, Prabowo also received sympathy from his political opponents. Deputy Chairperson of the National Campaign Team (TKN) Joko Widodo – Ma’ruf Amin, Abdul Kadir Karding revealed, his party was certainly sad to hear that Mr. Prabowo was ill. “We pray and I think that the whole community will also pray for Mr. Prabowo so that he will be given health,” he said.
His party also added, hopefully healed all his illnesses and returned to being able to return to normal activities. Once again, hopefully he will recover, said the PKB politician. Finally, Prabowo appeared to attend the invitation of the Indonesian College Alumni Declaration for Prabowo – Sandi, at the Pencak Silat Padepokan, TMII, Jakarta, (26/1/2019).
The author is a student at the Jakarta State University