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GNPF-MUI seeks to ease tension with President during Idul Fitri meet
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Tone down: President Joko Widodo, flanked by several of his ministers, meets with representatives of the GNPF-MUI, led by Bachtiar Nasir on Sunday. The group is seeking to ease tension with the government after orchestrating a series of rallies criticizing the administration over the past year. (JP/Anton Hermansyah)
A
delegation from the National Movement to Safeguard the Indonesian Ulema Council's Fatwa (GNPF-MUI) met with President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Sunday with the hope of easing tension and smoothing communication with the administration.
President Jokowi was accompanied by Coordinating Political, Security, and Legal Affairs Minister Wiranto, Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, and State Secretary Pratikno in the meeting with the delegation, which comprised seven people and was led by Bachtiar Nasir.
"Bachtiar Nasir and the GNPF-MUI aspire to secure communication access to the President," Pratikno said.
Commenting on the visit, Bachtiar Nasir confirmed that the visit intended to use the moment of Idul Fitri to break the ice with the Jokowi.
"The president has been very open and welcoming to our aspirations. We expect smoother communication in the future. This is a great moment and had a totally different tone to the situation we experienced during the mass rallies," he said.
Bactiar, who is currently under police investigation in relation to an alleged misappropriation of donation funds, added that technical details of how the GNPF-MUI would like to interact with the government had not been discussed in the meeting.
The GNPF-MUI orchestrated a string of mass rallies to protest then DKI Jakarta governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama during his blasphemy trial. The group’s activities slowed down after some its key figures, such as Bachtiar and Rizieq Shihab, became the target of police investigations. (dic)
