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'My mother was a Christian': Prabowo denies supporting caliphate
The retired army general reiterated his stance by saying that altering Pancasila, the state ideology, had never crossed his mind.
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Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto speaks during the presidential candidate held at the Shangri-La Hotel, Jakarta, on March 30. The debate covered ideology, governance, security and foreign affairs as its themes. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
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residential candidate Prabowo Subianto clarified during the fourth presidential candidate debate on Saturday that he was not in any position to support the establishment of a caliphate in Indonesia, an accusation recently thrown at him.
Prabowo, who was born from a Christian mother, said the accusation was “cruel” and did not “make any sense”.
“I am sure Pak Jokowi is a Pancasilaist, patriot and nationalist. But I wonder if you realize, that some of your supporters have accused me of supporting the creation of a caliphate?” Prabowo asked incumbent candidate Joko “Jokowi” Widodo during an ideology-themed session.
“My mother was a Christian. I was born from the womb of a Christian,” he added.
The retired army general reiterated his stance by saying that altering Pancasila, the state ideology, had never crossed his mind.
“Since I was 16 year old, I [have been] defending Pancasila. I risked my life, how could I be accused of [trying] to change Pancasila? That’s cruel,” he said.
Prabowo’s support among conservative Muslims, including former sympathizers of the now-banned Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), had led to rumors that he planned to turn Indonesia into an Islam-based state if elected.
In response, Jokowi said he believed his rival was a Pancasilaist, nationalist and patriot. However, he mentioned that false accusations had been thrown at him as well.
“When it comes to accusations, I’ve also been accused of many things in these past four-and-a-half years, including that I am a communist. This is normal. I’ve never responded to these accusations,” Jokowi said. (fac)
