Agung: Bambang did not intend to be racist

Golkar deputy chairman Agung Laksono said on Saturday he believed that one of the party's lawmakers, Bambang Soesatyo, unintentionally made a racist comment on the trade minister's ethnicity.

Bambang made a controversial remark on Thursday, insinuating that Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu, a Chinese-Indonesian, had organized the purchase of Chinese-made aircraft as a way to serve “the interests of her ancestors”.

Agung said he had met with Bambang and clarified the latter's statement.

“I don't think he has a racist mind, because that is not the kind of character that Indonesian people have,” he said as quoted by tribunnews.com.

He also said that the Golkar Party upheld Indonesia's values of diversity and pluralism.

Bambang made the remark during a “New Order vs Reform” discussion at the House of Representatives press room on Thursday.

The discussion was organized by the House press community after the release of an Indo Barometer survey that concluded the New Order era under former president Soeharto was better than the current administration.

He said the government had made a mistake by appointing ministers, not because of their qualifications, but because of their representation of various races, ethnicities and political parties.

Bambang said the purchase of airlines from China was not surprising because Mari “prioritized the interests of her ancestors”. He was referring to Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu.