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Jokowi, Kalla center stage at Muslim rally
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Call for unity: President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla speak to hundreds thousands of protesters at the National Monument park in Central Jakarta on Dec. 2. Jokowi thanked the protesters for holding a peaceful gathering. (Kompas TV/File)
I
n a show of leadership confidence, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla made a bold, last minute decision to leave the State Palace and join a huge crowd of protesters at the nearby National Monument (Monas) square to perform Friday prayer.
Earlier in the day, the palace had not revealed where the President and Vice president would perform Friday prayer, a compulsory ritual for adult Muslim men, but gave strong indications that the pair would perform the prayer at the mosque inside the palace compound.
Jokowi and Kalla, accompanied by Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto and Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saefuddin, left the palace at around 11:40 a.m. and walked to Monas with protection from dozens of police personnel and members of the presidential detail.
They later sat inside a tent erected beside the stage to hear the Friday prayer sermon delivered by Islam Defenders Front (FPI) chairman Rizieq Shihab.
After the prayer, Jokowi was invited to the stage and stood there for a couple of minutes to deliver a short speech.
“Thank you for your prayer for the safety of the country. I appreciate everyone who has come and maintained order, so that the event can run well,” he said.
(Read also: Conservative Muslims intensify political pressure with Dec. 2 rally)
By Friday noon, more than 500,000 protesters had flocked Monas and its surrounding areas, where more than 20,000 joint security personnel have also been deployed.
The event was scheduled to wrap up at 1 p.m.
This will be a follow-up of another large-scale, anti-Ahok rally on Nov. 4, when protesters, mostly from various Muslim groups, swarmed onto Jakarta's streets to demand Ahok's prosecution for alleged blasphemy. The rally, which started peacefully, however, turned into a riot in front of the State Palace after some protesters refused to disperse themselves in the evening. (hwa)
