Calls to uninstall Traveloka app go viral due to hoax its founder walked out on Governor Anies

Photo: Twitter
Photo: Twitter

The controversy surrounding Governor Anies Baswedan’s recent speech at Jakarta Catholic school Kolese Kanisius has been one of the most talked about subjects in Indonesia over the past few days, with a new viral hoax and accompanying protest adding another layer to the ridiculousness.

In case you’re out of the loop, the school held an event celebrating its 90th anniversary on Saturday, for which it invited Anies to speak. Celebrated pianist Ananda Sukarlan, an alumnus who had been invited to receive an award, unexpectedly walked out of the event while the recently inaugurated governor was giving his speech, along with some others (Ananda claims that hundreds left with him).

He returned to the event after Anies was finished speaking and, when he went onstage to receive his award on stage, said that his alma matter should not have invited someone whose character is contradictory to Kolese Kanisius’ values, alluding to Anies’ willingness to ally himself with hardline Islamists during the election campaign.

While Ananda’s protest inevitably renewed tensions between Anies’ supporters and his critics, it also had an unforeseen effect on popular Indonesian travel booking app Traveloka.

One of Traveloka’s founders, Derianto Kusuma, who is also a Kolese Kanisius alumnus and was a recipient of an award at the anniversary, was alleged to have shaken Ananda’s hand after the latter’s show of protest, while another version of the story suggested he even joined Ananda in walking out.

Based on that information, some of Anies’ supporters called for a boycott of Traveloka with the hashtag #UninstallTraveloka, which peaked yesterday.

https://twitter.com/uglyducked/status/930351641554857984

There were also those who jumped on the viral hashtag to defend the app.

https://twitter.com/tatjanashdr/status/930499919730720768

https://twitter.com/prastyphylia/status/930622873932251137

But it turned out that Traveloka is an unjust casualty of the controversy, as Derianto wasn’t even present at the anniversary.

“We are proud that one of our founders, Derianto Kusuma, received an award from Kanisius alumni,” wrote Traveloka PR Manager Busyra Oryza in a press release yesterday.

“He was unable to attend (the anniversary) because he was on official business which had been planned months in advance.”

The #UninstallTraveloka hashtag has lost its steam since Traveloka’s clarification, and this tweet, to us, perfectly sums up the whole debacle.

https://twitter.com/adito_irawano/status/930582322650406912

In any case, there’s really not much for corporations to worry about with these calls for boycott. After all, Sari Roti is still one of the most popular bread brands in Indonesia a year after its denouncement by ultra conservatives.

Let’s all move on with our lives, shall we?




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