VP Kalla Urges All Parties to Stop Talking about Racial issues

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Vice President Jusuf Kalla has urged all parties not to rake up racial, religious and ethnic (SARA) issues in regional elections.

"We should be careful while discussing racial, religious and ethnic (SARA) issues. In a democracy, people choose regional head candidates based on their own beliefs," Jusuf Kalla said on Friday.

In many instances, people may be tempted or provoked to talk about SARA issues. One example is the talk about Surah al-Maidah verse 51 of the Quran.

He called on the people not to speak about religious affairs in a careless manner.

"It is not about religion, but is related to the issue of ethics," the vice president affirmed.

The vice president cited an example from the ongoing US presidential election where some supporters of Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump have withdrawn their support due to his provocative talk.

"In the United States, it took 240 years for a black man to become the president and it also took 175 years for a catholic to become the head of state. So, religious matters are not related to choice," the vice president argued.

The vice president also called on all parties to promote tolerance in an attempt to create interreligious harmony.

Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok), who does not belong to any political party, was nominated as a candidate by the PDIP and a number of other political parties to contest the next gubernatorial election in February 2017.

Ahok is now at the center of a controversy after he said words that were interpreted by some as allegedly insulting to Islam when he was on a visit to the Thousand Island in Jakarta Bay recently. He had to publicly apologize after he was reported to the police.

ANTARA