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Suswono apologizes for comment about widows

Nahdlatul Ulama's youth wing GP Ansor planned to file a police report against Jakarta deputy gubernatorial candidate Suswono for his remarks on widows and Prophet Muhammad.

News Desk (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Thu, October 31, 2024

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Suswono apologizes for comment about widows Supporters gather on Aug. 19, 2024 for the announcement of Ridwan Kamil of the Golkar Party and Suswono of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) as respective gubernatorial and deputy gubernatorial candidates in the Jakarta election in November. (Antara/Muhammad Adimaja)

J

akarta deputy gubernatorial candidate Suswono apologized on Monday for his controversial joke suggesting that rich widows should marry unemployed men.

He used Prophet Muhammad’s marriage to Khadijah, who was a wealthy widow, as an example.

“I realize that my statement in a meeting with Bang Japar volunteers has caused a controversy,” Suswono said in a statement, as quoted by tempo.co.

He said that his comment was aimed at a widow during the declaration of Bang Japar volunteers supporting him and his running mate gubernatorial candidate Ridwan Kamil on Saturday.

“There was no intention to insult widows or to connect it with Prophet Muhammad, who is a role model for me,” he said.

Suswono, a former agriculture minister from the Prosperous Justice Party, admitted that his joke on widows was inappropriate and ill-advised.

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“Whatever the explanation is, I admit my mistake,” he said.

He said his intention was to convey his concern for orphans, widows and young men in Jakarta, but the joke was not appropriate.

Suswono also emphasized that the joke was not part of the Ridwan-Suswono (Rido) program, saying that Rido focused on empowering marginalized and vulnerable groups.

He added that he would be more careful in public communications so as not to cause any more controversies in the future.

“Let’s talk about programs that are useful for the people,” he said.

Earlier, the Ansor Youth Movement (GP Ansor) planned to file a police report against Suswono over the controversial remarks.

The youth movement wing of Nadhlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization, said Suswono’s comment was offensive to the Muslim community.

The secretary of GP Ansor Jakarta, Sulthon Mu’minah, described the comment as “highly unethical and inappropriate” in a written statement published on Saturday.

Later, Sulthon also said his organization would file a complaint to the police this week.

“We plan to file a report [on Suswono] this week, but we haven’t decided on the date yet. We’ll see how it develops, whether there’s goodwill on Pak Suswono’s part to apologize,” Sulthon said on Monday evening, as quoted by tempo.co.

Separately, another Jakarta deputy gubernatorial candidate, Rano Karno, expressed surprise at Suswono's statement and said that it was probably not made in a formal setting.

"I believe he was joking; we know that Suswono doesn't typically speak in serious forums,” he said, as quoted by wartakota.tribunnews.com.

“Although I must admit I was quite surprised when I read it. But I think it was just a joke. Hopefully, it won't be interpreted as disrespectful or insulting."

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