The meeting of three figures earlier this week took place in a wholesome family atmosphere. Megawati described the meeting with the two crucial Malaysian personalities as "nostalgic."
Megawati has known them for long. Moreover, when Mahathir and Anwar visited Jakarta, they always made an appointment to meet Megawati. Hence, this meeting is a kind of response to their visit every time they come to Jakarta.
Their discussions were wide-ranging, starting from family matters as well as how 98-year-old Mahathir Mohamad is still very healthy and then praying for each other's good health to discussing internal political issues in the two countries.
"Pray for each other, telling each other of political issues in Indonesia and Malaysia," Megawati remarked.
The meeting with Mahathir was held in a strong family atmosphere. In fact, the 4th and 7th Prime Ministers of Malaysia hoped that Megawati could send his favorite food from Indonesia.
"I know his favorite food. He likes meat rendang. When he visited Jakarta, there was a Natrabu Padang Restaurant in Sabang (street), and he said the rendang there is very good, so, I tell him 'My rendang is better,'" Megawati stated while repeating her words to Mahathir.
Mahathir also likes snake fruit, including sugar-coated snake fruit from Bali. Every time, he messaged her, he asked her to send his favorite fruit to Malaysia when the season came, and Megawati agreed to this request.
"I also said earlier, 'Do you still want salak and rendang?' He said 'Oh, I would love to,'" Megawati stated.
The conversation also covered discussions on the plans to move the country's capital to Kalimantan. Mahathir said the translocation is a big project that requires a long time. This is different, of course, from moving the center of Malaysia's government from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya, which is only about 25 kilometers away.
"In the past, Kuala Lumpur was congested. We moved the center of government to Putrajaya. It is not far, only 25 kilometers. It is different from IKN (Indonesia's new capital city)," Mahathir stated.
Moreover, Putrajaya is not large and less than 50 square kilometers.
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Meeting Anwar Ibrahim
Likewise, when she met Anwar Ibrahim, Megawati said that the Malaysian prime minister also asked her if it was possible to visit each other to give each other inputs.
"Especially, Mr. Anwar has just become prime minister, right? He asked if it was possible to visit each other. However, I immediately said 'Later, ok, when the Indonesian elections are over,'" Megawati remarked.
Certainly, Megawati, who had just received Honoris Causa from Tunku Abdul Rahman University, also became the topic discussed at the meeting. It was her tenth honorary doctorate obtained from various universities at home and abroad.
Neither Mahathir nor Anwar could attend the ceremony, yet they followed and received a report regarding the content of the scientific speech delivered by Megawati on October 2, 2023.
“They both also congratulated me and felt happy. Moreover, what was given was a (doctoral degree in) social science. Mrs. Anwar (Wan Azizah Wan Ismail) said that it was actually an unusual thing to be given honoris causa for something called social science," Megawati remarked.
The meeting was also an opportunity for them to reminisce about matters, such as how Anwar Ibrahim, who was still in prison at that time, expressed his keenness to get to know Megawati.
Since then, they have become friends. At that moment, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail took the lead as general chairman of the party.
"Me, when I became the president, I heard Mrs. Anwar (Wan Azizah Wan Ismail) was in Jakarta, so I invited her, and she really appreciates it," Megawati noted in a written statement received in Kuala Lumpur.
Megawati agreed that the meeting with the two figures had a family nuance. Priysha, Megawati's granddaughter, who was also present there, was invited to talk about politics by Anwar Ibrahim.
According to Megawati, Anwar asked her granddaughter to study politics.
“(Mr. Anwar said to Priysha) 'You have to know politics' and Ms. Priysha said to learn little by little, then Mr. Anwar commented, 'You have to (study politics), you have to. (It is) because your grandfather (Bung Karno, ed.) was a reliable politician.' There are jokes that perhaps do not need to be told," Megawati stated while repeating her conversation with Anwar.
Nonetheless, Megawati also realizes that both she and Mahathir and Anwar are the symbols of kinship between Indonesia and Malaysia, and a good kinship must always be maintained.
Megawati believes that apart from living in the same region, the ASEAN countries also come from cultural and social roots that have many similarities.
"Not only Malaysia but the ASEAN countries also share similar cultural and social roots," she stated.
Even on the government side, if one pays attention, it can actually be said that the change of leadership in the region was not by new politicians.
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Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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