REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BANDUNG -- President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has asked the Indonesian nation to switch from hate speech to true speech. The public should refrain from spreading slanders and hate speeches in the social media, he said.
"Switch from hate speech to true speech, from pessimism to optimism, and from consumptive behavior to productive one. That is what the Indonesian nation needs now," he said while addressing a function where he received a "Pini Sepuh" (elderly wise man) title from the Pasundan Community in West Java on Sunday.
The president asked the community not to fall apart because of slanders that may spread during the presidential elections next year. He further noted that some people still believe that he had link to the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).
"What often emerges in the social media is that President Jokowi is PKI, It is still found up till now," he said.
Quoting the last survey, he said some 6 percent of the Indonesian community still believe in the slander that he is linked to PKI.
"They can ask the mosque near my house (in Solo). There are LDII, NU, Muhammadiyah, Persis, Al Irsyad and FPI in Solo. Ask the mosque near my house. My family is Muslim. My father and mother are Muslim, and so are my grand father and grand mother," he said.
President Jokowi is seeking reelection in the vote scheduled in April next year. He would compete against former army general Prabowo Subianto who he beat in the last election in 2014.
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