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Prabowo's Joke Invites All Political Parties To Merge Into One At The PSI Congress

The atmosphere at the 2025 Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) Congress in the auditorium of Muhammadiyah University in Surakarta turned warm and filled with laughter when President Prabowo Subianto jokingly called for a merger of political parties. Prabowo made a joke while taking attendance of each guest, including Golkar Chairman Bahlil Lahadalia, whom he nearly called a Gerindra cadre. "Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Bahlil, who is the general chairman of Golkar, I nearly called Gerindra earlier. Will we all end up merging into one party? But no, no, that wouldn't be democratic," he said with a laugh. The 8th President of the Republic of Indonesia then emphasized that despite the differences in political parties, all parties remain united in the spirit of nationalism. 

"This is true Indonesian democracy. Not a democracy of fighting, not insults, not fault-finding. Acknowledge the truth, and then obey. That's Indonesian democracy." The atmosphere became more relaxed as Prabowo began greeting each official present with his trademark quips. He jokingly referred to Minister of Cooperatives Budi Arie Setiadi as he sought to determine his political party affiliation. 

"Is this [Budi Arie] in the PSI, or are you in the PSI or Gerindra?" he asked, drawing immediate laughter. Loud applause erupted when Prabowo mentioned the name of Cabinet Secretary Lt. Col. Infantry Teddy Indra Wijaya. "Why is the applause louder for Teddy?" he said with a smile. He also addressed Deputy Minister of Population and Family Development Isyana Bagoes Oka with a joke about PSI's position in the red-and-white cabinet. "What's this? PSI is still a small party, but how come there are so many in the cabinet? [Even] before changing the logo, it already has this much influence, what if it changes the logo?" he added with laughter. Furthermore, Prabowo also reminisced about old moments with Grace Natalie, the former PSI Chairwoman. He admitted that he had invited the former journalist to join Gerindra. "Ms. Grace Natalie, Grace almost joined Gerindra, but she didn't. Remember, I was the one who called first?" Prabowo concluded with a laugh.

Tag: Bahlil Lahadalia Indonesian Solidarity Party Prabowo Subianto PSI