Jakarta (ANTARA) - Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Minister Abdullah Azwar Anas has asked civil servants to maintaining their neutrality during the 2024 General Election period so that they are not allowed to press 'like' or comment on the social media posts of presidential and vice presidential candidates.

"Civil servants are appealed not to interact with presidential and vice presidential candidates on social media, including giving a 'like' and commenting on their posts, as well as prohibited from sharing (related) stickers on WA (WhatsApp)," he said at his ministry's office here on Thursday.

Anas informed that he had signed agreements with several institutions regarding civil servants' neutrality ahead of next year's elections.

He said that his ministry has signed a memorandum of understanding on civil servants' neutrality with several parties and officials, including the General Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu), the General Elections Commission (KPU), National Police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo, and Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian.

"We have agreed that civil servants must be neutral," he stressed.

The minister has also prepared sanctions ranging from warnings to criminal penalties for those who are found violating the rule.

Earlier on November 2, 2023, Communication and Informatics Minister Budi Arie Setiadi said the government has readied several strategies to maintain civil servants' neutrality ahead of the elections.

One of the strategies is creating an integrity pact, in accordance with a joint decree regarding election neutrality, and directly monitoring civil servants in the digital space.

The Indonesian government on September 22, 2022, issued a Joint Decree on the Guidelines for Guidance and Monitoring of Civil Servants' Neutrality in the Implementation of General Elections.

The decree prescribes that civil servants sign an integrity pact, which includes conditions on the use of social media, for instance, not hitting 'like' on content from the social media accounts of election candidates.

Under the decree, civil servants are also required not to leave supportive comments for candidates or spread false news related to the elections through their social media accounts.

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Translator: Hendri Sukma, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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