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No word that anti-Ahok group to gather at Istiqlal Mosque
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People decorate the TPS IV polling station in Gambir, Central Jakarta, with Betawi ondel-ondel figures on April 18. (JP/Jerry Adiguna)
T
he caretakers of the Istiqlal Mosque in Central Jakarta are claiming they have not received any information about any activities planned for Wednesday by Tamasya Al Maidah, a pressure group that opposes incumbent candidate Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama.
The group, named after a controversial Quranic verse some Muslims claim bars non-Muslims from being their political leaders, had not confirmed it would use the mosque as their “base camp”.
“The group coordinators have yet to give us any spoken or written confirmation [on using the mosque],” said the Istiqlal Mosque's head of protocol, Abu Hurairah, on Wednesday, as quoted by kompas.com.
Tamasya Al Maidah (Al Maidah Tour), which is being facilitated through an Android application, is urging Indonesians, even from outside Jakarta, to monitor the voting at each of the 13,032 polling stations in the capital.
A group organizer previously said that participants would gather at Istiqlal Mosque in the afternoon after the voting is finished.
Abu added that he previously heard about the participants’ intention to gather in the mosque from social media.
“We would have to coordinate with security officers for any activities that have certain interests and agendas,” Abu said. (kuk)
