"The government will seriously handle the issue of such activities. We have been ordered by the President to monitor its activities because the Gafatar organization has created unrest," Pramono Anung said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has ordered that the activities of the Nusantara Daybreak Movement (Gafatar) organization be monitored.

"The government will seriously handle the issue of such activities. We have been ordered by the President to monitor its activities because the Gafatar organization has created unrest," Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said at the Presidential Palace here on Wednesday.

He was asked by the President to study matters related to Gafatars activities, including certain ideological ideals, faiths and purposes of this organization.

Pramono said the National Police and the Ministry of Home Affairs are also studying the same. They have been ordered to provide guidance for mass organizations and collect data about them.

"But this one (Gafatar) is considered to have caused unrest among the public because several people are reported to have disappeared," he said.

The cabinet secretary called upon the people to have a mature attitude, to be open and rational in their views and in taking any decision about a new organization.

"People should not easily believe such an organization. The Gafatar must have persuaded the people with a certain spiritual belief, thats why people felt attracted to join it. As the victims are even prepared to leave their families, there must be something that has been injected into them ," Pramono said in reference to many people who have disappeared and are believed to have joined the organization.

Actually, Gafatar is not a new organization, but its establishment was only officially declared on January 21, 2012 at JIEXPO building in Kemayoran, Jakarta. It was headed by Mahful M. Tumanurung.

The presence of Gafatar is perceived to have created unrest in the recent days following many people who were reported missing and are believed to have joined this organization.

In the meantime, Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo remarked in Jakarta on Tuesday that Gafatar is a banned organization and has claimed several victims.

Kumolo stated that several people, including numerous employees of the Ministry of Home Affairs, had gone missing mysteriously and had allegedly joined the Gafatar movement.

According to the minister, the Home Affairs Ministry is currently tracking its employees who mysteriously went missing and are believed to have joined the Gafatar organization.

Kumolo explained that Gafatar was not registered at the Ministry of Home Affairs as an official organization.

However, he added that it is the task of the law enforcement and intelligence agencies such as the Police, the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), the Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS), and the National and Political Unity (Kesbangpol) throughout Indonesia to find a solution to this problem.

The minister also appealed to the public to report to the police if they know of any family or relatives who might have indicated to have some involvement with this mass organization.

Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Binsar Panjaitan claimed that the government was exploring and studying the issue of existence of Gafatar organization.

"Now, we are studying the activities of this organization that has been in existence since 2012. We want to know what Gafatar really is," Panjaitan remarked.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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