Bali Governor Wayan Koster widely criticized for showing Jokowi support at police event

Wayan Koster. Photo: Facebook/Nank Inten
Wayan Koster. Photo: Facebook/Nank Inten

During a speech at the Millennial Road Safety Festival held by Bali Regional Police in Denpasar on Sunday, Bali Governor Wayan Koster urged crowds to vote for incumbent President Joko Widodo in April’s General Election, a move that could potentially put him in legal jeopardy.

“I invite young brothers, the millennial generation, to back and give an opportunity to Mr. Joko Widodo to become President of the Republic of Indonesia for a second period,” said Koster, as quoted in Kumparan.

It’s a move that has garnered much criticism, not only from the opposing camp of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, but also from the police, the Election Supervisory Agency (Baswalu), and even Jokowi supporters.

“Actually, [the event] wasn’t intended as a political stage. Rather, it was an activity organized by the police,” said the chairman of the Bali Bawaslu, I Dewa Raka Sandi, on Monday.

Likewise, Bali Police spokesman, Hengky Widjaja said that what Koster did violated the responsibility of the festival organizers, the Bali Regional Police, which must be seen as being politically neutral.

“The Indonesian Police and the Bali Regional Police have no practical political agenda and that is prohibited by law,” Widjaja told Jawa Pos.

Campaign officials for President Jokowi and his running mate, Ma’ruf Amin, also expressed their disappointment towards Koster’s actions. Son Agung Gde Ngurah Astawa Putra, the chairperson of the regional election campaign board for the Bali National Democrats (NasDem) was among them.

“If those who commit violations of this type are village heads, civil servants, police officers, or army officers, then they would be punished with a sentence of 1 year with a fine of IDR24 million (US$1,700)… If the violator is a governor, let’s wait to see the decision of the Election Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) of Bali,” he commented, as quoted in Jawa Pos.

Sandi, the chairman of Bali Bawaslu, said his party would coordinate with the internal Bawaslu to investigate the matter further, adding that state officials were allowed to campaign if they were an administrator of a political party and the campaign was carried out during a designated campaign period.

And indeed, as the chairman of the Bali Regional Representative Council for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDi-P), Koster referenced this in his speech on Sunday.

However, if an element of campaign violation is found, Sandi is adamant that it will be appropriately dealt with.



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