Ihsanuddin, Serang – President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has issued a strong warning against people who spread slander accusing him of being linked to the banned Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).
Widodo made the warning when attending the distribution of land certificates to local people at the Serang City Square in Banten, West Java, on Wednesday March 14.
Initially Widodo warned the public not to be provoked by the hoaxes and slander being spread on social media in the lead up to regional elections.
Following this he related how he himself has become a victim of such hoaxes. “There are those to say on social media, President Jokowi is PKI. Slander like that, just imagine”, said Widodo.
Widodo believes that this slander is hilarious and makes no sense because the PKI was dissolved in 1965 while he was only born in 1961.
“I was only three years old. How could there be three-year-old PKI [members]? Is it believable that there were infant PKI?”, said Widodo.
What added to Widodo’s surprise however, was that there are still people who believe such things. The head of state also admitted to often feeling angry at such baseless accusations.
“That’s why, sometimes yes I’m annoyed but I look for these people but can’t find them. Watch out if I find them, I’ll ‘clobber’ (gebuk) them for sure”, said Widodo to the applause of the people gathered.
Widodo called on people not to be consumed by slander and hoaxes of this kind because if they consume slander and hoaxes they will elect the wrong leaders.
“That’s why we must be really careful during the presidential, regional elections, we must be careful. Elect the best leaders. Don’t make a mistake. If you make a mistake all of society will suffer”, he said.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was Jokowi Ancam ‘Gebuk’ Orang yang Sebarkan Isu Dirinya PKI.]
