REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Red-and-White Coalition (KMP) of opposition parties has welcomed the meeting between President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and coalition leader Prabowo Subianto held on Thursday.

"The meeting between the two leaders showed that there was no longer any rivalry between them after the presidential election was over," Tantowi Yahya, the KMP coalition speaker, noted here on Friday.

The meeting showcased the friendship between the president and general chairman of the Gerindra party, he stated.

The meeting, which had also taken place earlier, further reaffirmed Prabowo Subianto's support to the government of President Jokowi as long as its policies are pro-people, he remarked.

"So far, the KMP has always been perceived as a monster hindering Pak Jokowi's (the President) government activities. Now, this notion has proven to be false," he stated.

He noted that the Indonesian people have always wanted ongoing communication between the parties inside and outside the government.

Tantowi believed that President Jokowi will listen to the views of various other parties supporting and opposing him.

"I think the more the parties are heard, the better it is. The president may not hesitate to take a decision that is important and in the interest of the public," he remarked.

"We also touched on his commitment to strengthen and preserve state institutions, and I give him my full support. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and police both must remain strong, and we must maintain it," Prabowo remarked after the meeting while clearly referring to the current tensions in the relations between the National Police and KPK.

Regarding the appointment of the national police chief, he said it was the prerogative of the president, and he will support whatever decision the president will take.

President Jokowi recently decided to postpone the inauguration of Commissioner General Budi Gunawan as the new national police chief after he was named a suspect in an alleged corruption case by the KPK, although the parliament had given its nod to his candidacy.

Following the naming of Commissioner General Budi Gunawan, the police named KPK Deputy Chairman Bambang Widjojanto as a suspect for allegedly asking a witness to give a false testimony at a court in an election dispute case in 2010 to ensure a win for his client while he was a lawyer, which led to tensions in the relations between the two law enforcement institutions.

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