Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, who is facing off against incumbent President Joko Widodo at the polls soon on April 17, is facing a very hard path to the presidency, at least according to most recent polling. But that doesn’t seems to have dampened the Gerindra chairman’s enthusiasm on the campaign trail as he, once again, ripped off his shirt and threw it at his cheering supporters while campaigning in Subang, West Java, on Wednesday.
As some of you may recall, this is not the only time Prabowo has performatively shed his shirt in public for his supporters within the last 12 months. The former general did something quite similar (minus wearing an undershirt) while at Gerindra’s National Coordination Meeting in April 2018 after accepting his party’s nomination and being paraded on the shoulders of his cadres.
So what’s up with Prabowo pulling off his shirt in public — is he trying to channel the spirit of a soccer player who just scored a goal or perhaps the passion of Morrisey at his Jakarta concert? After somebody on Twitter asked Prabowo why he likes to take his shirt off (cheekily asking if he wasn’t concerned about getting the uniquely Indonesian affliction known as masuk angin), the presidential candidate replied:
Refleks aja terbawa suasana yang sangat bersemangat. Wajar lah. https://t.co/SyMHprxLBw
— Prabowo Subianto (@prabowo) March 9, 2019
“It’s just a reflex brought about by the excited atmosphere. It’s natural.”
Prabowo’s campaigners characterized it slightly differently, saying his shirt removal in Subang was a form of gratitude towards his stalwart supporters.
“I see it as a form of appreciation and affection by Pak Prabowo to his supporters. Those who have been willing to continue to wait for him in the pouring rain,” campaign spokesperson Jansen Sitindaon said Friday as quoted by Detik.
And what about stripping down to his bare chest after receiving Gerindra’s nomination last year?
The head of the party’s executive committee, Nizar Zahro, said it was Prabowo’s way of showing off his robust health and strength, which are also important qualities in a president.
“Being healthy is very important. Besides having intelligence and vision, physical health is very important to becoming president. Prabowo is just showing enthusiasm to his cadres. It is like the way Pak Jokowi distributes t-shirts and rice, it’s just a communication method,” Nizar said shortly after the nomination, as quoted by Tribun.
While it may be popular among his supporters, we’re not sure how many swing voters are going to be persuaded by further showings of Prabowo’s shirtless torso. And, according to the majority of polls, Prabowo is going to have to pull the vast majority of undecided voters and a lot more if he hopes to stand a chance at the polls on April 17.
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