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Setya Novanto, Surya Paloh stand up for diversity after anti-Ahok rally
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Party loyalty: Golkar Party chairman Setya Novanto (second right) shakes hands with fellow party member Ade Komarudin during a party event on July 27. Setya was inaugurated as House of Representatives speaker on Wednesday, replacing Ade. (Antara Photo/M Agung Rajasa)
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upporters of gubernatorial candidate Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama retook the public stage on Sunday with a mass gathering in Jakarta to call for unity amid growing pressure from conservative Muslim groups to push for the arrest of the incumbent governor over blasphemy.
NasDem party chairman Surya Paloh expressed hope of national unity in his oration at the event, which saw thousands of people flock to Jl. Jenderal Sudirman and Jl. MH Thamrin to attend the so-called “Kita Indonesia” (We are Indonesia) event.
“We would not reach our national goals if we keep [accusing each other of blasphemy]. Our biggest evils are not ethnic and religious differences, but rather stupidity and poverty,” he said.
Golkar Party chairman and House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto shared a similar view.
“President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo made a good move by blending in with the rally crowd for the Friday prayer. I hope this peaceful meeting can further cool down the tension,” he said, referring to a large-scale rally on Friday that saw more than 500,000 people gather around the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta to join a mass prayer pushing for Ahok’s arrest.
Ahok, a Christian and Indonesian of Chinese descent in the Muslim-majority country, has sparked uproar among Islamic groups with a comment about a Quranic verse in a speech delivered on his visit to Thousand Islands regency in late September.
Golkar and NasDem, along with the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Hanura Party, are backing Ahok in the upcoming gubernatorial election, to be held on Feb. 15. (adt/hwa)
