Observers believe that President Joko Widodo carefully avoided any actions that might look like he was defending former Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama’s during his blasphemy ordeal over fears that it could hurt him politically. After all, any actions he took against the hardliner groups that spearheaded the anti-Ahok movement could open him up to attacks that he was anti-Islam, attacks that could prove as devastating to his chances for re-election in 2019 as they were to Ahok’s chances in this year’s gubernatorial election.
But now (a little more than one week after Ahok decided not to appeal his guilty verdict) Jokowi has adopted his strongest language yet to describe his administration’s efforts to quell Islamic extremism and intolerance in Indonesia, saying he would pursue the fight regardless of the political costs.
During an interview with Tempo yesterday, Jokowi said he was preparing a special task force focusing on intolerant groups that were flourishing in Indonesia and working to undermine pluralistic state ideology of Pancasila.
Jokowi said the unit would officially be called the Presidential Work Unit for the Stabilization of Pancasila and that he would sign off on an order to establish it this week.
The president said the team would “consolidate and propagate a common understanding of Pancasila” using modern media such as comics, vlogs and social media such as Instagram.
Jokowi also said the government would continue to be firm in facing intolerant groups and dissolving anti-Pancasila groups (such as Hizbut Tahir, the Islamist group the government announced it would try to disband earlier this month), regardless of how it might affect his support from Muslim groups in the 2019 election. The president said upholding the Indonesia’s constitution was the most important thing.
“If you talk about political considerations, then it will never be finished. Enough, we must uphold the Constitution,” Jokowi said as quoted by Tempo.
Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly and Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Wiranto both said the government was currently monitoring a number of radical social organizations and reviewing them as part of the legal procedure to have them officially disbanded.
The government’s argument is that they are constitutionally allowed to disband organizations working to undermine or replace Pancasila. The ministers did not mention which organizations were currently being monitored for possible disbandment.
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