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Jakarta Post

Candidates say no to PKI, HTI

Since the 2014 election, Jokowi has been plagued by allegations that he is a sympathizer of the long-banned Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and insinuations that he is anti-Islam, secretly a Christian, and would disband the Religious Affairs Ministry and put a stop to other religious organizations and traditions.

Karina M. Tehusijarana and Ivany Atina Arbi (The Jakarta Post)
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Jakarta
Sat, March 30, 2019

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Candidates say no to PKI, HTI Standing for the rights: Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia members and sympathizers of Islamic organizations from Greater Jakarta stage a rally to protest the the 2017 Regulation in a Lieu of Law (Perppu) on Mass Organizations in Jakarta on July 17, 2017. (JP/Ibrahim Irsyad)

T

he upcoming debate between President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto on Saturday may serve as a stage for the two candidates to defend themselves against accusations about their respective ideological stances.

The debate, which is set to focus on the topics of ideology, governance, security and foreign affairs, will once again pit the presidential candidates against each other, but analysts predict the two sides may take a more defensive than offensive approach, especially regarding ideology.

Since the 2014 election, Jokowi has been plagued by allegations that he is a sympathizer of the long-banned Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and insinuations that he is anti-Islam, secretly a Christian, and would disband the Religious Affairs Ministry and put a stop to other religious organizations and traditions.

Prabowo, meanwhile, has had to allay fears that he intends to set up a caliphate or Islamic state and that his campaign is supported by former members of Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), an Islamic mass organization that was disbanded in 2017 for promoting the establishment of a caliphate in Indonesia.

Since going on the campaign trail at the beginning of the mass rally period last week, Jokowi has repeatedly brought up the “hoaxes” against him and called on his supporters to respond to them.

In a speech at a rally in Dumai, Riau, on Tuesday, for example, Jokowi pointed out the absurdity of the PKI allegations.

“I was born in 1961. The PKI was disbanded in 1965, when I was only 4 years old. How can I be accused [of being a PKI member]?” he said. “Were there toddler PKI members?”

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