REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, YOGYAKARTA -- Vice presidential candidate serial number 2 Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno sought blessings and advice of Yogyakarta Special Region Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X in the run-up to the 2019 Presidential Election at Keraton Kilen, Yogyakarta. The four-hour meeting on Friday between Uno and the Sultan, starting at 8:48 WIB, lasted for approximately an hour and a half.
"Finally, when I progressed to the DKI Jakarta governor election, I begged him to pray with him, and now, there is a new assignment in the 2019 presidential election, and he gives his blessings and views," Uno noted after meeting the Sultan.
He stressed that his visit to the Kilen Palace was not to seek political support from the King of Ngayogyakarta Palace.
"I am not at all at the place (asking for support). I visit him as a senior, and I just seek blessings. As a junior, we must continue to pay him a visit and get inputs from those who are far more senior," Uno remarked.
Uno noted that he often held discussions with the Sultan, especially when he was both active in the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (Hipmi) and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).
"I happened to be in the same organizations, both at Hipmi and Kadin, and the background is also the same as entrepreneurs," Uno pointed out.
Uno respected the Sultan, so he had to be placed above all political interests.
"We do not want to draw him into practical politics," he stated.
He noted that the Sultan, as a national figure, who had undergone several changes of government, left a message for him that if the government changed later, then to not start the construction back from scratch.
"However, what is good should be continued and what is not good must be improved, and the economy must be managed better," he remarked.
In addition, Sandi stated that at the meeting, he had time to discuss various matters related to the economy, ranging from issues of employment, investment, and prices of basic necessities, to holding discussions on disaster management by referring to the model of handling the earthquake in Yogyakarta in 2006.
In connection with the program, Uno remarked that he had not received any specific input from the Sultan. However, the Sultan is keen that future development is sustainable.
"We have highlighted in the several policies that Prabowo-Sandi will implement that development related to bureaucratic reforms should not overlap between ministries, licensing issues, and so on," he added.
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