TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A political expert from the State Islamic University (UIN) Syarief Hidayatullah, Adi Prayitno, says that regional head candidates would be misconceived to ask for support from Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab.

Adi argues that paying a visit to Rizieq Shihab who is currently overseas will not affect their electability.

“It’s ironic that in the midst of a direct electoral democracy like today, there are still people that believe an individual is able to jack up their electability,” said Adi today, especially considering that the person is not even in this country.

Read: Lawyer Many Regional Head Candidates Meet Rizieq Shihab in Mecca

It has been reported that regional head candidates such as the candidate of the Central Java Gubernatorial Election Sudirman Said and Bekasi Mayor candidate Nur Supriyanto met Rizieq Shihab in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Adi reasons that such acts can be considered as a form of mystification as candidates are more focused on relying on external support instead of focusing on their work performance and future programs that they should be offering to their constituents. “This is a political mystification that has gone out of hand,” he added.

Furthermore, he says that democracy should be in line with the logical thinking where a constituent would vote a leader based on performance. “The candidates have mortgaged their common sense by visiting Rizieq Shihab,” Adi said.

He even says that the ‘Rizieq Shihab-effect’ only played a major role in the Jakarta Gubernatorial Election since there was a momentum that supported religious sentiments to be utilized at the time.

Imam Hamdi