Name : Idhar Musyafir Class: C

NIM : 1600004156 Applied Linguistic

NEWS

(Source of: thejakartapost)

Prabowo meets with Singapore's PM Lee

Jakarta | Tue, November 27, 2018 | 11:21 am

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Monday met with Indonesia's presidential hopeful
Prabowo Subianto, who is in Singapore for The Economist's "The World in 2019" Gala
dinner.

Lee in a Facebook post noted that Prabowo, the founder and chairman of Indonesia's
Gerindra Party, has been busy campaigning around Indonesia.

"We discussed how Singapore and Indonesia can strengthen our strong ties and take our
relationship forward," he said. "I wished him all the best and an enjoyable stay in Singapore."

For the April 2019 presidential elections, Prabowo, 67, will face off once more with his
opponent in the 2014 polls, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

The two presidential hopefuls, along with their vice-presidential picks, have been in
Singapore for various events over the past month.

Prabowo's running mate Sandiaga Uno in October spoke on Indonesia's future economy at an
ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute event.

Jokowi had just a few weeks earlier attended the ASEAN Summit and related meetings,
while his partner Ma'ruf Amin had been in town in October to deliver the RSIS Distinguished
Public Lecture.

Lee had met Ma'aruf, the chairman of the Indonesia Ulama Council, ahead of the talk, and
posted on Facebook: "I wished him a successful lecture tomorrow and all the best for his
campaign preparations."

Prabowo, a retired army general, will speak at Tuesday's dinner. It will also feature
Malaysian politican Nurul Izzah and Anthony Tan, the co-founder of ride-hailing firm Grab.

Prabowo's campaign team's director of foreign affairs Irawan Ronodipuro said Prabowo was
invited to give his views on advancing Indonesia and boosting its economic growth.

"The international decision-making community wants to know more about Prabowo's

strategic views on making Indonesia a sovereign country that can contribute to the global
economy," he said.
Prabowo will speak about Indonesia's natural wealth at the dinner, said Irawan, adding that
one focus is how Indonesia is able to produce bioenergy to meet global needs by reprocessing
10 million hectares of degraded land.

Topics :Lee-Hsien-Loong, Prabowo-Subianto, Jokowi-Maruf, Prabowo-Sandiaga

This article appeared on The Straits Times newspaper website, which is a member of Asia
News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post

Tycoon Tomy Winata supports Jokowi-Maruf pair

Jakarta | Tue, November 27, 2018 | 03:33 pm

The campaign team of incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and running mate Ma’ruf
Amin has confirmed that tycoon Tomy Winata has thrown his support behind the ticket in
next year’s presidential election.

“It is true that [Tomy] supports presidential candidate pair number one,” said the campaign
team’s deputy secretary, Verry Surya Hendrawan, on Monday, as quoted by tempo.co,
referring to the Jokowi-Ma’ruf ticket’s ballot number.

Speculation was rife that the Artha Graha boss had endorsed the Jokowi-Ma’ruf pair after a
photo of him holding a shirt emblazoned with “Jokowi-Amin 01” went viral on Sunday.
Tomy apparently was attending a walk initiated by Artha Graha in the Sudirman Central
Business District (SCBD) area in Jakarta on that day.

Verry said he did not know whether the tycoon would donate money to the campaign, but he
ensured that all donations would be managed transparently and in accordance with election
regulations.

“All of the donations will be transferred to a bank account designated [to pool] campaign
funds, which will be audited regularly,” Verry said.

Separately, the campaign team of rival candidate Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno lauded the
Jokowi-Ma’ruf pair for receiving support from the tycoon.

“I congratulate the pair for receiving support from big businessmen,” said Prabowo-Sandiaga
campaign team deputy chairman Priyo Budi Santoso.

He added that, although Prabowo had not received an endorsement from a tycoon, a fast
number of small enterprises were supporting the candidate. (vny/swd)

Topics :Jokowi-Maruf, Prabowo-Sandiaga, tomy-winata, election, 2019-elections

 Djarot hints Ahok may return to politics
Jakarta | Wed, November 28, 2018 | 09:21 am

Former Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama has not ruled out making a
political comeback after serving his prison sentence for blasphemy in January, about three
months before the April legislative and presidential elections, according to his former deputy
governor and close ally Djarot Saiful Hidayat.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician claimed that Ahok had told
him he might return to politics and join Djarot’s party.

“[Ahok] said, ‘If I return to politics, I will certainly join the PDI-P,” said Djarot, who decided
to run for a seat at the House of Representatives after losing the North Sumatra gubernatorial
election, as quoted by Antara on Monday.

Djarot had recently spoken to Ahok at the latter’s cell at the Mobile Brigade Command
(Mako Brimob) detention center in, Depok, West Java.

During his visit, Djarot claimed that Ahok had also called on his supporters to vote for the
PDI-P in the legislative election and for President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his running
mate, Ma’ruf Amin, in the presidential race.

Neither Ahok nor his sister, Fifi Lety Indra, has confirmed Djarot’s claims. Fifi told The
Jakarta Post that Ahok had yet to decide whether he would return to politics after his
release.

“He may return to Indonesian politics or he may not. We will hear [his decision] after he is
released. Whatever it is, we will support him,” Fifi said.

A number of politicians from other parties that backed Ahok’s reelection bid in 2017 said
they believed Ahok would not quit politics, but they doubted Djarot’s claims that the
outspoken politician had called on his supporters to vote for PDI-P.

“We will believe it if Ahok says it himself publicly. Djarot’s claims are meant to boost [the
PDI-P’s] popularity in the election,” said Hanura Party executive Benny Rhamdani. “Ahok
belongs to all parties, not only one or two.”

Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) leader Grace Natalie said Ahok had yet to decide whether
to join the PDI-P or other parties, suggesting that it was possible he would end up joining her
political party instead.

The PSI is a major supporter of Ahok and led by former members of the Ahok-Djarot
campaign team during the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election, such as secretary-general Raja
Juli Antoni and party executive Sunny Tanuwidjaja.

“If Ahok wants to join us, of course we’ll accept him,” Grace said, adding that Ahok was an
inspiration to her party.

Ahok was a Golkar Party politician before defecting to the Gerindra Party, which backed his
bid in the 2012 Jakarta gubernatorial election with then-PDI-P politician and Surakarta mayor
Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. He left Gerindra not long after Jokowi was elected Jakarta governor
and decided to challenge Gerindra Party leader Prabowo Subianto in the 2014 presidential
election and won, leaving his gubernatorial post to Ahok.

Ahok’s blasphemy trial played a major role in his defeat in the 2017 Jakarta election. His
conviction has been widely condemned as politically motivated and has hardened his staunch
supporters, who believed he was a victim of a sectarian politics.

This article was originally published in The Jakarta Post's print edition on Nov. 28, 2018, with the title "Djarot hints Ahok may
return to politics".

Topics :Djarot-Saiful-Hidayat, basuki-tjahaja-purnama, ahok, Indonesian-politics, PDI-P,

PSI, political-party

Prabowo thanks ‘ojek’ drivers for donating to his campaign

Jakarta | Thu, November 29, 2018 | 04:43 pm

Despite the outrage some ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers expressed over Prabowo Subianto’s
remarks about their occupation, a number of ojek drivers are still willing to contribute some
of their income to support the presidential candidate’s election campaign--a move appreciated
by Prabowo.

Through his twitter account @prabowo, Prabowo thanked an ojek driver named Ian for his
donation of Rp 80,000 (US$5.59). “Ian, I thank you so much for your sacrifice; next time,
please give your bonus to your wife and children,” Prabowo said.

The Gerindra Party chairman was responding to a post submitted by Ian, through his account
@afrianxaviesta2. Ian said God had answered his prayer for a bonus from work, and that he
had promised that if he got a bonus, he would transfer the money to Galang Perjuangan, the
bank account of the Prabowo campaign.

“Thank God, my prayer has been answered. Although the bonus is not huge, I [hope it can
benefit the candidate],” Ian said, mentioning @prabowo, @sandiuno, @Gerinda and
@fadlizon.

Another ojek driver with the Twitter handle @RomitsuT also tweeted about his donation.
“Dear @prabowo, I am sorry that I can only garner this little amount of money today, which I
donate for you. I have got permission from my wife and children to donate all of the money
for our struggle to be sovereign under [the leadership of] Prabowo-Sandiaga,” he said.

Romitsu sent Rp 44,800 to the Galang Perjuangan bank account.

Prabowo responded by saying “From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for your kindness
and sacrifice. But, your first priority should be your wife and children, please send my
regards to your family and driver colleagues.”

The presidential candidate had previously expressed his concern about the career path of
many young Indonesians, who ended up as low-skilled ojek drivers, amid the rise of ride-
hailing companies like Go-Jek and Grab.
“I’m not happy about this kind of career path. I want young Indonesians to become
entrepreneurs, technicians, pilots, to own a cafe, a company or a plantation, not [just to be
low-skilled] labor in their own country,” he said at a seminar.

Many condemned the remark, and some staged a rally to demand that Prabowo apologize to
ojek drivers. (vny)

Topics :2019-elections, 2019-presidential-election, Prabowo-Subianto, Prabowo-Subianto-

Sandiaga-Uno, ojek-service

Pemuda Muhammadiyah's new leader vows to maintain nonpartisanship

Yogyakarta and Jakarta | Fri, November 30, 2018 | 06:58 am

Sunanto, the newly elected chairman of Pemuda Muhammadiyah, the youth wing of
Muhammadiyah, the country’s second largest Muslim organization, has said he would tread a
different path from his predecessor Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak ahead of the 2019 presidential
race.

Sunanto pledged that he would not bring the youth group into politics, nor become a
supporter of any presidential candidate.

“We will maintain the neutrality of Pemuda Muhammadiyah and I won't be a part of [any]
presidential campaign team,” Sunanto said in his victory speech on Wednesday night. “This
is my commitment. I am committed to carry on [the duties of] Pemuda Muhammadiyah
chairman until the end of my term.”

His predecessor Dahnil, whose term ended this year, is currently the spokesman of the
campaign team of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto and running mate Sandiaga Uno -
- who are challenging President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in the 2019 election.

Sunanto, already a high-ranking official of the youth wing, was elected by an overwhelming
vote in the 1,196-member plenary session late on Wednesday late during the wing’s national
congress in Yogyakarta.

Sunanto won with 590 votes against rivals Ahmad Labibi with 292 votes and Ahmad Fanani
with 266 votes. Three other candidates also ran.

Political analyst Adi Prayitno from the State Islamic University (UIN) Syarif Hidayatullah
Jakarta predicted that Pemuda Muhammdiyah would likely follow in the footsteps of its
parent organization Muhammadiyah, which also recently vowed to maintain political
impartiality.

“Sunanto is not part of any candidates’ campaign team. Therefore, cadres of Pemuda
Muhammadiyah are under no obligation to lend their support, as an organization, to either
candidates,” Adi said.
“I believe both camps in the presidential election will try to pull Pemuda Muhammadiyah
toward supporting them. However, I’m optimistic the youth wing will respect the
[organizational] hierarchy and follow the stance of its parent organization.”

Muhammadiyah chairman Haedar Nashir recently reiterated that the organization would
uphold its philosophy of ummatan wasathon (moderate community) and would not pick sides
in national politics, despite an apparent division among some Muhammadiyah elite members
and influential figures affiliated with the group.

A National Mandate Party (PAN) patron and an adviser to the Muhammadiyah central
executive board, Amien Rais earlier urged Muhammadiyah to choose a presidential candidate
to support in the upcoming election. PAN is part of the coalition backing the Prabowo camp
alongside Gerindra, the Democratic Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

In the 2014 presidential election, Muhammadiyah was also divided.

The former chairman of Muhammadiyah’s Students Association (IPM), Raja Juli Antoni,
who has assumed the role of a campaigner for Jokowi, lauded Sunanto's decision to follow
Haedar's nonpartisan lead.

"Just like Haedar, cak Nanto [Sunanto] will maintain Muhammadiyah free from political
intervention," said Raja Juli, who is also the secretary-general of the Indonesian Solidarity
Party (PSI), which endorses the Jokowi-Ma'ruf Amin ticket, as quoted by tribunnews.com.

He said he suspected that the low number of votes obtained by Fanani, who is said to have
been backed by Dahnil, showed that "This was Dahnil's punishment for being reckless when
leading Pemuda Muhammadiyah by trying to drag it into politics."

Both Dahnil and Fanani have been in hot water over alleged involvement in a corruption case
related to the use of the Youth and Sports Ministry’s 2017 budget. The Jakarta Police
questioned them last week as witnesses in an alleged misuse of Rp 2 billion (US$137,888)
channeled by the ministry to finance an Indonesian Islamic Youth camp conducted in
Yogjakarta last year. The two have maintained their innocence. (ipa)

Topics :Muhammadiyah, Muhammadiyah-youth-wing, Pemuda-Muhammadiyah, Prabowo-

Subianto, 2019-presidential-election

Trump's propensity for using Twitter confuses me: Prabowo

Jakarta | Mon, December 3, 2018 | 09:06 am

Presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto said that he respected United States President Donald
Trump's commitment to defending American interests, but added that he was “confused” over
Trump’s frequent Twitter use.
The statement was uttered during a dialogue session at the World 2019 gala dinner organized
by The Economist in Singapore on Tuesday.

During the session, The Economist’s executive and diplomacy editor Daniel Franklin asked
Prabowo about his opinion on being compared to the US President.

“I’m not too versed in the dynamics of the US situation now, but what I understand is that
[Trump] has alienated a lot of Americans, but he is aspiring to defend American interests,” he
said. “The way he does it, his propensity to use Twitter, it confuses me also.”

President Trump was well known for being active on Twitter, with communications firm
Burson, Cohn and Wolfe (BCW) recording in a study released in July that the US president
had nearly 264.5 million interactions with his followers. As of Thursday, his account,
@realDonaldTrump, had some 56 million followers.

When Franklin asked the former military general whether he used the same social media,
Prabowo answered: “I do, but I’m very low key”, which was responded to with laughter from
the audience.

“Because in Indonesia, there are very strict laws. We can be arrested for tweeting something
that’s not politically correct,” the presidential candidate added.

The 2016 Electronic Transactions and Information (ITE) Law has been criticized for its
draconian provisions that have led to hundreds of convictions of defamation.

As of Thursday, Prabowo’s account, @prabowo, had some 3.38 million followers and
recorded more than 8,700 tweets since it opened in May 2009. (kmt)

Topics :2019-elections, 2019-presidential-election, Prabowo-Subianto, Donald-Trump