Former President SBY: If you don’t want this country to be burned, Ahok must be prosecuted

With many people worried that this Friday’s rally against Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama will erupt into violence (possibly caused by the involvement of ISIS) several Indonesian leaders have been trying to pacify angers. On Monday, President Joko Widodo met with his former campaign rival and current opposition leader Prabowo Subianto to jointly urge calm while three of the country’s biggest Islamic organization, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama, have urged their members not to join the protest.

Now former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is also the head of the Democratic Party, has made his own comments about the protests but they were definitely not aimed at calming anybody down.

“If you do not want this country to burn with the anger of justice seekers, Pak Ahok must be prosecuted. Do not let him be considered above the law,” SBY said at a press conference at his home in Bogor today as quoted by Kompas.

SBY said that Ahok has been charged for insulting religion (for allegedly insulting the Quran) and that he must be prosecuted immediately in line with the Criminal Code of Indonesia.

The former president also alluded to certain powerful people who were protecting Ahok and said that they should step aside and let the legal system process the governor accordingly, after which all sides should respect whatever decision is made regarding his guilt.

SBY also said, “Perhaps they protest because their demands are not heard, if they are ignored they will protest until there is a Lebaran for horses.”

If you’re thinking “Lebaran for horses…?” don’t think you’re out of the loop. Apparently it’s a term uniquely used by SBY and netizens are having a field day making fun of the odd phrase – “lebaran kuda” is currently the number one trending topic on Twitter.

Which seems like a good thing, as the comedy of it is also giving people a license to criticize the former president for possibly putting people’s lives in danger in what would appear to be a transparent political ploy. After all, SBY’s own son Agus Yudhoyono is running against Ahok in the Jakarta Governor’s race. It is extremely disappointing that SBY is seemingly selling Indonesia out to hardliners in order to increase his chances of creating a political dynasty.



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