“As a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle [PDI-P], I uphold Bung Karno’s mandate to continue supporting Palestine’s independence,” Ganjar said on Thursday in Semarang, Central Java, referring to the first Indonesian president Sukarno, whose daughter Megawati Soekarnoputri is chair of the party.

“We know Bung Karno’s commitment to Palestine, whether in the Asia-Africa Conference, the nonaligned movement or in the Conference of the New Emerging Forces. So, we follow his mandate,” he said.

Earlier this month, Bali Governor Wayan Koster requested Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali to ban the Israeli soccer team from participating in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Bali, saying it was “out of respect” for Indonesia’s diplomatic stance on the Palestine issue.

The longstanding conflict between Palestine and Israel was “a serious regional problem”, Koster said in a letter he sent to Amali recently. “[There is no] diplomatic relationship between the Indonesian government and the Israeli government. [...] We request the Minister adopt a policy forbidding the Israeli team from competing in Bali,” Wayan wrote in the letter, dated on March 14, which went viral.

Central Java and Bali, just like all provinces in Indonesia, are less than two years away from the 2024 simultaneous regional elections.

Ganjar remains the frontrunner for the 2024 presidential election, while his top potential challengers former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan and Gerindra Party leader Prabowo Subianto find themselves in a tight race, according to the latest public-opinion poll issued this week.

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