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'Exclusive' rally splits Democrats, Prabowo
From the beginning, Yudhoyono had disagreed with #PutihkanGBK and the run-up to Prabowo’s campaign event, because they were dominated by a demonstration of only one religion’s symbolism.
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Supporters of presidential candidate pair Prabowo Subianto and Sandiaga Uno sit on a field at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta on April 7. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
J
ust over a week before the presidential election on April 17, tensions within candidate Prabowo Subianto’s camp have emerged following a rally that was marked by Islamic religious fervor.
The Democratic Party, one of the political parties supporting Prabowo’s bid, expressed objections to the run up to and the taglines of Prabowo’s campaign event on Sunday in Senayan, Jakarta.
The party’s patron, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in a written statement to three senior party officials that the rally was “too exclusive” because it was dominated by Islamic symbolism and activities.
Sunday’s rally started early at 3 a.m., with the agenda including mass dawn prayers at the stadium, zikir (chanting), munajat (whispered prayers) and Quranic recitals. A number of Muslim figures, including chairman of hard-line group the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) Ahmad Shabri Lubis, the leader of the National Movement to Safeguard the Indonesian Ulema Council’s Fatwa (GNPF-MUI), Bachtiar Nasir, as well as pro-Prabowo preacher Haikal Hassan had VIP slots in the rally.
The camp also used the tagline #PutihkanGBK and #PutihkanJakarta, which are calls to make Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) sports stadium and Jakarta white. The color is associated with Islamic attire, and was worn by most of the 100,000 Prabowo supporters who took part in the rally.
Prabowo’s rival, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo quickly used the issue to assert his commitment to religious diversity on his campaign trail in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), on Monday. NTT is a majority-Christian province.
“I agree that in every campaign, we have to emphasize our diversity and pluralism in a bid to maintain our unity,” Jokowi said.
