PL hopes Santokhi can resist pressure from ABOP

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The Pertjajah Luhur (PL) party expresses hope that President Chan Santokhi will be able to withstand political pressure from the ABOP. The latter party is demanding control over the Ministry of Home Affairs (Biza) and aims to remove PL from the coalition. It is expected that the Ministry of Transport, Communication, and Tourism (TCT), currently headed by a PL minister, will also be up for discussion.
If the President cannot withstand the political pressure and gives in to ABOP’s demand, the PL will reconsider its position. “I won’t be smiling anymore if there’s a breach of the agreement,” said Vice-Chairman Bronto Somohardjo.
In an interview with LIM FM, the former Biza minister stated that, despite the current turmoil within the coalition, PL does not believe that Ronnie Brunswijk’s chances for the presidency have diminished. Somohardjo pointed out that now that the PL-ABOP alliance is over, people shouldn’t forget that his party has the potential to secure approximately 30,000 votes, which he says could already endanger Brunswijk’s chances at the presidency.
Somohardjo noted that the party is currently led by a political veteran with 50 years of experience. “At PL, we know how to count, unlike that gentleman who claims to have 11,000 supporters,” Somohardjo said, referring to the Djojo group that left the NDP to join Brunswijk.
The former minister questioned who would still want to work with ABOP. He believes that the BEP, NPS, and NDP, which have adopted a code of conduct, would certainly not. The vice-chairman noted that his party actually helped ABOP secure the vice presidency.
“Without PL, ABOP would have only garnered 5-6 seats,” said Somohardjo. The party has also cautiously concluded that, by collaborating with ABOP in 2020, its base supporters did not turn out to vote.
Somohardjo stated that it does not matter to him whether or not his party remains in the coalition. He posed a rhetorical question about why people suddenly want to claim the Ministry of Home Affairs.