REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, DEPOK -- Former general chairman of the Golkar Party, Muhammad Jusuf Kalla (JK) considers it natural for political parties to be pragmatic in every attempt of a general election (Elections). This happened in the 2014 elections, when the Golkar Party did not side with Joko Widodo (Jokowi), but eventually joined the governing coalition.

“Once we win, join Golkar, it's ordinary politics,” said JK in his speech at the Juwono Sudarsono Hall of the University of Indonesia, Depok, West Java, Thursday (7/3/2024).

He said that no political party had been established to be an opposition or opponent of the government. Opposition is an accident for a political party that has always been pragmatic in taking decisions.

“Again no party is founded or wants to be an opposition, opposition for the party is an accident. So therefore it's a lot pragmatic,” said JK.

“People often ask us, how do we establish a proper democracy? “Yes democracy is not an example of today, but a democracy that has a democratic meaning, that has a good way for this nation,” he added.

Indications of fraud in the 2024 election range from attempts to politicize social assistance (bansos) to intimidation of the state apparatus. If this continues, Indonesia could again be stuck in authoritarian times.

“If this system becomes a habit, then we will return to authoritarian times, that's all the problem really is,” said JK.

He then questioned what happened to Indonesia's current democracy and leadership. When the 2024 election has been voiced, many parties have become an untransparent and unfair contest forum.

“The combination of all of these certainly leads to the existence, I said earlier, then the democracy that we hope craves for the people's vote, to be bought by the capabilities of the things that determined the last election, that's what happened,” the 10th and 12th Vice Presidents of the Republic of Indonesia said.