Paw-dorable politics: Cat communities hold competition to find look-alike for Prabowo’s cat Bobby

Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto and his cat Bobby. Photo: Instagram/@bobbythek4t
Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto and his cat Bobby. Photo: Instagram/@bobbythek4t

If presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto wins the election on April 17, then Bobby The Cat will become the country’s First Feline.

The black and grey cat has arguably become the most famous pet in Indonesia, after the former stray came to Prabowo’s house on Kertanegara Street, South Jakarta, around two years ago. Bobby not only won the heart of the former general, he’s become a mascot of Prabowo’s presidential campaign, complete with his own Instagram account @bobbythek4t.

Bobby first shot to viral stardom thanks to his hobby of crashing the high-level meetings Prabowo often hosts at his home (though he’s never scolded for it just look how adorbs he is). Prabowo’s campaign has used Bobby’s fame in an apparent attempt to reach a very specific subset of potential voters who both love cats and were iffy about supporting the presidential challenger. But, they’ve also used the Instagram account  to promote stray cat adoption.

 

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Meoww ❤🇮🇩 “Dearest adopter, satu saat di masa kejayaan Indonesia, puluhan bahkan ratusan tahun dari sekarang… anak anak bangsa (sedari dini) akan mendengarkan cerita kepahlawanan dan baktimu untuk Ibu Pertiwi. Kucing yang nyawanya (dulu) tidak berharga ini, akan memastikan bahwa engkau tidak akan pernah dilupakan… Terus maju my adopter, doa seluruh pahlawan dan pendahulu bangsa Indonesia ada didalam derap langkah dan denyut nadimu. Kalahkan setiap kebohongan dan hinaan yang mendera… maafkan dengan jiwa besar.🇮🇩 Sesungguhnya para (hoomans) pencemooh itu, tidak mengerti apa yang sudah mereka buat… Siapa yang sudah mereka fitnah dan tertawakan tanpa henti. Terimakasih telah berikan kami teladan untuk jangan pernah menyerah dan terus berjuang… selalu setia pertahankan kehormatan Republik, sampai tunai janji bakti. Perjuanganmu tidak akan sia2, ribuan taruna2 bangsa yang baru akan bangkit mengikuti jejakmu… Terimakasih sudah menyayangi dan memberi arti pada jiwa yang hina dan kecil ini… Terimakasih sudah mengajarkan untuk tidak kuatir, karena setiap perbuatan mulia (yang tersembunyi sekalipun) tercatat abadi disisi Allah, Tuhan Yang Maha Esa. Terimakasih my adopter… Bobby dapat merasakan berlaksa2 Malaikat perkasa sekarang ada berjaga disekeliling tenda juangmu. Sudah saatnya… Kalah Menang tidak berarti bagimu, pikirmu hanya senantiasa memberikan yang terbaik utk bangsa, negara dan rakyat. Kucing kecil inipun dapat merasakan dan mengerti, siapa yang paling cinta dan paling ikhlas berjuang untuk Ibu Pertiwi tercinta… Meowww 🇮🇩❤❤❤ Purr2 my adopter, @prabowo – Bobbythek4t , 4 Maret 2019 Photo (by) courtesy of @dhaniwirianata #operationk4tmander #myadopter #myadopterprabowo #parabhakti #kucingpatriotk4 #presidensubianto #presidenrike8 #amanadilmakmur

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Bobby has also become such a mainstay of Prabowo’s campaign that there are actually —  seriously — two communities dedicated to the cat, one called Bobby’s Best Friends Community and the other known as the Prabowo-Sandi’s Cat Empowerment Community Institution.

To celebrate the paw-someness of Bobby, the two communities held a look-alike competition at Gerindra’s headquarters in Ragunan, South Jakarta, on Saturday.

After the judges assessed the competition, a cat named Bandi emerged the winner.

 

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Bandiiiiii….. Pawsome sekali Pawfam! Sama2 terbuang dan kemudian bertemu dengan adopter yang penuh cinta kasih. 🇲🇨♥️🐈 Meoww Dearest all, dibawah ini yaa sumber beritanya: https://m.detik.com/news/berita/4459980/dulu-dibuang-pemilik-bandi-juara-lomba-mirip-bobby-kucing-prabowo Terimakasih untuk para jurnalis hebat di @detikcom yang sudah memberitakan Bandi, dengan tidak kenal lelah. Juga media2 lainnya, yang belum bisa Bobby sebutkan satu persatu. Kalian adalah obat anti tirani hoomans. Semoga semua pemimpin redaksi di Indonesia menggunakan hati dan pikirannya, tanpa memihak. Bukan cuma soal lomba kucing, tapi berita ini akan membuat hoomans Indonesia untuk lebih saling menjaga perdamaian kerukunan. ♥️🐈 Lebih punya visi jauuuh kedepan. Mencintai satwa dan lestarikan lingkungan, bukan hanya menambah kerakusan, menambah waktu berkuasa, berbohong dan berkomplot untuk markup proyek dan korupsi… Terimakasih para jurnalis budiman di @detikcom , jangan jadi Durno dan Cakil ya… Jadilah jurnalis bersifat ksatria/srikandi. Let’s spread true love! warmest k4thugs untuk adopternya Bandi…♥️🐈🇲🇨 #bandixbobby #bobbythek4t #lombamiripbobbythek4t p.s. yeayy! Thanks for the great support and love.

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“He allowed himself to be kissed, that’s how I know if a cat is friendly or not. Bobby likes to be kissed by Prabowo, that’s why we tested that aspect too. He has a sharp face like Bobby, and he also got the fierce macho gaze. He has bangs in a similar pattern and color, too. Bandi is also big and fat like Bobby,” competition judge Afrida told Detik on Saturday.

Bandi, who was once tossed out by his previous owner, won the competition’s IDR2.5 million (US$175) grand prize. His current owner, Ratri, said she knew he was destined to be a star and would always care for him.

“I won’t allow [if Prabowo asks for Bandi], but he can ask for other cats. Bandi also has a lot of fans already,” Ratri said.

Other than the cat competition, there was also a cat fashion show as well as stalls for “pawrents” to bathe their furry friends, get them vaccinated, or have them checked up by vets.

The head of the event’s organizing committee Priscilia Ester Waworuntu, said the event aimed to show Prabowo’s animal-loving side.

“Through the [@bobbythek4t] Instagram account, we highlight the humanitarian side of Pak Prabowo. And now, we want this event to promote the animal lover image of Pak Prabowo. We also want to move people to adopt stray cats, because there’s a program from the Jakarta government to control the stray cat population,” Priscilia told Detik.

Unfortunately, Bobby himself wasn’t able to attend the event because he’s not allowed to leave home, especially with his owner out of town campaigning for the presidency.



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