ndonesian tobacco giants HM Sampoerna and Djarum as well as coal mining firm Adaro Group have denied backing the campaign of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto.
All three firms vowed neutrality ahead of the Feb. 14 general election in response to a statement from Adaro Energy CEO and shareholder Garibaldi “Boy” Thohir about the three companies supporting Prabowo’s campaign.
Adaro Energy head of corporate communications Febriati Nadira claimed Boy had delivered his statement as an Adaro Group shareholder and said the company would give employees the freedom to exercise their right to participate in politics.
“It was his personal opinion as an Indonesian citizen, and it does not represent the opinions of all employees,” she told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
Read also: Ex-deputy SOEs minister Rosan chairs Prabowo-Gibran campaign team
Boy Thohir, the brother of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir, said on Monday at an event hosted by volunteers of Erick Thohir United States Alumni (ETAS) that many businesspeople were ready to help Prabowo and his running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka win this year’s presidential election.
“Even though we are small in number, in this room, perhaps a third of Indonesia’s economy is here. So if Djarum Group, Sampoerna Group [and] Adaro Group [and others], the point is, all the groups are here,” he said, as reported by CNBC Indonesia.
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