Former Muhammadiyah chairman Muhammad Sirajuddin "Din" Syamsuddin has resigned from his post as a presidential envoy for religious harmony, saying he wants to stay neutral in the 2019 presidential election.

Din said he delivered his resignation letter on Friday, shortly after the ballot number draw at the General Elections Commission (KPU).

“Muhammadiyah, the organization that I led, is committed to not getting involved in politics,” he said in Jakarta, as quoted by tempo.co. “So I must be [politically] neutral.”

Din, who is also a former Indonesian Ulema Council chairman, said the title "presidential special envoy" could be easily construed as an indication that he was rooting for the incumbent candidate, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

Jokowi said he had yet to receive Din’s resignation letter, adding that he would meet with the Muslim figure soon.

Muhammadiyah is the second largest Islamic organization in the country. Along with Nahdlatul Ulama, the group has been politically influential despite its formal policy banning its leaders from engaging in practical politics. (sau)