Kalla says no deal struck with NasDem

JAKARTA. Former vice president Jusuf Kalla says his presence at the national meeting of the NasDem Party was not a political move and that he did not strike a deal with the party.

“I was invited as a speaker and I have to be fair to everybody. I have often been invited as a speaker, even during the declaration of the party,” Kalla said as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Earlier last week, Kalla failed to attend a national meeting of the Golkar Party. Kalla was Golkar chairman between 2004 and 2009. Kalla said that he did not attend the Golkar meeting due to a scheduling conflict.

The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) chairman has previously expressed his willingness to pair with Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in the 2014 presidential election.