Joko Calls for Crackdown on Campaign Smears

Presidential candidate Joko Widodo speaks at the Chinese 

Indonesian Association (INTI) in Bandung, West Java, on

 July 2, 2014. At a press conference on July 3,  he called 

on the police to take stronger action against smear 

campaigns.  (Antara Foto/Widodo S. Jusuf)

Bandung. Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) presidential candidate Joko Widodo urged police to take stronger action against smear campaigns, which have intensified in the run-up to the July 9 election.

“There are many black campaigns because there is no daring law enforcement,” Joko said, using the local term for campaign smear tactics. He spoke on Thursday in a press conference at the Holiday Inn in Bandung, West Java — with vice presidential candidate Jusuf Kalla standing by his side.

“Firm action must be taken without fear and without pressure from any political party,” Joko said. “Stop overthinking, just do it. If law enforcement is not being upheld, [the perpetrators] will keep on doing it.”

He called on the police to take an aggressive stand and arrest potential perpetrators proactively, letting the courts decide their guilt or innocence.

“If [police] are daring enough, I guarantee [perpetrators] would think twice about committing black campaigns,” he said.

Joko has been targeted by a smear campaign on the part of “Obor Rakyat,” a tabloid distributed in Islamic boarding schools claiming that Joko is a Chinese Christian in secret.

The PDI-P responded by distributing pamphlets showing Joko, a Javanese Muslim, at Mecca with his family.

Police said they were still looking into the matter.

The Prabowo Subianto campaign has been targeted by former presidential spokesman Wimar Witoelar, who uploaded a “gallery of rogues” featuring the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) candidate alongside the Bali bombers and Osama bin Laden. Muhammadiyah, Indonesia’s second-largest Islamic organization, has filed a case with the police to investigate for the group’s inclusion in the gallery. The organization has a longstanding tradition of avoiding involvement in politics and has not endorsed either candidate. Indonesians go to the polls on July 9.

By SP/Hotman Siregar on 05:32 pm Jul 03, 2014