The Jakarta Globe, Jun 07, 2014
Jakarta. An official from the coalition backing the presidential ticket of Prabowo Subianto and Hatta Rajasa has denied that the latter specifically sought out the support of Islamic hard-liners, even as a conditional endorsement was tendered.
“It wasn’t us looking for the support of the FPI” — Islamic Defenders Front — “but it was they who came to a religious gathering to offer their support to Prabowo and Hatta,” Bara Hasibuan, a spokesman for Prabowo’s campaign team, said on Thursday.
The ticket has come under criticism for courting the FPI, a radical group notorious for mob attacks on religious minorities and illegal raids on legitimate businesses selling alcohol.
Hatta and Amien Rais, the chairman and chief patron, respectively, of the National Mandate Party, or PAN, made the call during a gathering with the FPI and other hard-line groups at Jakarta’s Al Azhar Mosque on May 27.
Bara said the coalition, led by Prabowo’s Great Indonesia Movement Party, or Gerindra, did not condone religious intolerance or violence but would still welcome the endorsement of the FPI.
“Even though the FPI is known for violent acts, as a party with pluralist platform we can’t refuse such support. Our coalition welcomes all support, no matter what the background of the supporter,” he said.
His statements came as the FPI said separately that it would indirectly endorse Prabowo by throwing its support behind the three Islamic parties in his coalition: the PAN, the Prosperous Justice Party, or PKS, and the United Development Party, or PPP.
Muchsin Alatas, the FPI chairman, said in Jakarta on Wednesday that his organization believed in the “integrity” of the three parties. (The PKS president was in December last year sentenced to 16 years in prison in a corruption case; PPP chairman Suryadharma Ali was last week charged in a separate graft scandal.)
Muchsin said one of the conditions for the FPI’s support of the parties was for Prabowo, if elected, not to block any local bylaws based on Islamic shariah.
Other conditions are for the candidate to promise to “fight immorality” and “free Indonesia from the imported mind-set of imperialism and liberalism.”
Rizieq Shihab, the FPI’s grand imam, previously said that if the Prabowo could commit to “defending Islam,” he would earn their “instant” endorsement.
“We’re not asking for ministerial posts or anything like that. What we want is for [Prabowo] to give something to Islam,” Rizieq said on May 24
( Yup, the FPI did not " demand " much, just a free hand in their obnoxious wheeling and dealing, and Prabowo and Co? Well , play with fire and you will get burnt, with other words, sling muck and you will get your nice white baju spotted) siK.
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za 7 jun 2014 - 8:40