"It is impossible for the Indonesian president -- whoever he is -- to do that because Indonesia is a country with strong religious, cultural, ethical, and behavioral norms,"Bogor (ANTARA) - Incumbent President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) reiterated his call for the entire nation not to believe in fake news, false information, and slander ahead of this year's presidential election, due to be held on April 17.
"Ahead of this year's parliamentary and presidential elections, hoaxes, slander, and false information are being widely proliferated. So, please be careful," he told the attendees of an event for distributing land certificates in Bogor, West Java, on Thursday.
The fake news, groundless information, and slander have been circulated through various social media platforms and directly to community members, he said, urging people to remain alert over such misleading information on various issues.
Among the issues that he highlighted during the event were the elimination of religious education, banning of the Islamic call for prayer (azan) from mosques, and legalization of the marriages of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) couples.
"It is impossible for the Indonesian president -- whoever he is -- to do that because Indonesia is a country with strong religious, cultural, ethical, and behavioral norms," said Jokowi, currently seeking reelection in the upcoming presidential race.
He dismissed rumors that he was a member of the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), saying that he was born in 1961 while the political party whose ideology was absolutely banned in Indonesia conducted a coup in 1965.
At the event attended by Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister Sofyan Djalil, Bogor Mayor Bima Arya Sugiarto, and Bogor District Head Ade Yasin, Jokowi distributed 5,000 land certificates to the residents of Bogor city and Bogor District.
The incumbent president has repeatedly urged his loyalists to go door-to-door to inform and alert people about the groundless information and fake news on various issues that potentially create misconceptions about the government.
During his recent visit to Palembang, South Sumatra Province, he ordered all members of the Srikandi Jokowi-Ma'ruf Amin pair to clarify and explain such rumors to the people.
Jokowi affirmed that regardless of who governs Indonesia, it would be impossible to ban azan from mosques, as Indonesia has the world`s largest Muslim population.
The proliferation of fake news, hate speeches, and slander has obviously become a serious problem prior to this year's parliamentary and presidential elections, amid pledges by the nation's political elites to promote and implement a peaceful election campaign.
The grassroots also join the battle by using various social media platforms to influence the political preferences of the people at large. However, certain irresponsible people use social media to spread fake news and slander against certain figures.
In connection with the spread of fake news, Head of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) Advisory Council Din Syamsuddin has warned that spreading hoaxes contravenes the true value of religion. Therefore, everybody should avoid the proliferation of fake news.
Translator: Joko Susilo, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
