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Jokowi, Prabowo campaigns highlight sharia-based economy
Sandiaga repeated the Prabowo-Sandiaga campaign’s economic message, saying that santri (pesantren students) are the backbone of the country's economy and that they should become entrepreneurs, or what he referred to as “santripreneurs”. Ma’ruf, who runs alongside incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, said he wanted to focus on the “Muslim economy”.
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Incumbent President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (second from left) chats with Prabowo Subianto (second from right), his challenger in the 2019 presidential election, during a campaign event last month. Jokowi's running mate Ma'ruf Amin (left) and Prabowo's vice presidential candidate Sandiaga Uno (right) also attended the event. (Antara/Muhammad Adimaja)
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residential hopeful Prabowo Subianto and running mate Sandiaga Uno were on the campaign trail with visits to different pesantren (Islamic boarding school) over the weekend.
During his visit to the Sidogiri pesantren in Pasuruan, East Java, on Saturday, Sandiaga was clad in a white shirt, green sarong and black peci (rimless hat), similar to the garb that of rival vice presidential candidate and Muslim cleric Ma’ruf Amin.
Menyapa para santri di Majelis Keluarga, Pondok Pesantren tertua di Indonesia. Salahsatu penggerak ekonomi kita ialah ekonomi umat. Untuk itu penting para santri ini dibentuk dan ditumbuhkan jiwa santripreneur yang kita harap nantinya dapat menjadi pencipta banyak lapangan kerja. pic.twitter.com/vJw3GnbyzM
— Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno (@sandiuno) 6 Oktober 2018
At the pesantren, Sandiaga repeated the Prabowo-Sandiaga campaign’s economic message, saying that santri (pesantren students) are the backbone of the country's economy and that they should become entrepreneurs, or what he referred to as “santripreneurs”.
The message, however, is not authentic as it also has been voiced by Ma’ruf, who runs alongside incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. The cleric said he wanted to focus on the “Muslim economy”.
“I’m certain that one of the movers of the Indonesian economy is the Muslim economy,” he said as quoted by Antara. “An economy that can empower [people].”
Ma’ruf previously said that he wanted to establish a “new wave” in the economy based on sharia.
Prabowo, at the same time visited the As Syafi'iyah Pulo Air pesantren in Sukabumi, West Java, on Sunday, and also reiterated his focus on the economy, saying that he would do his best to eradicate poverty if he won the election.
“I feel the support of people in Sukabumi is very strong and this gives me hope that I will win,” he said at the pesantren, as quoted by radarsukabumi.com.
Despite having the support of several conservative Islamic groups such as the National Movement to Safeguard Fatwas (GNPF), a recent survey conducted by Indikator Politik Indonesia found that respondents considered the Prabowo-Sandiaga ticket to be less pious than its rival.
Around 76 percent of the respondents considered President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to be religious and pious, while only 58 percent said Prabowo was religious and pious.
Eighty-two percent of respondents said Ma’ruf was religious and pious, while 63 percent said the same for Prabowo's running mate, Sandiaga Uno. (kmt)
