TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Senior member of the Islamic Defenders Front or FPI, Novel Bamukmin, said they reject the change.org petition asking President Joko Widodo to lift the citizenship status of Rizieq Shihab. He said that the demand was only made by a handful of people, thus it does not represent the voice of all Indonesians.

"Seventy-five thousand signatures is a very small number," he said via text message on Friday, June 7. 

According to Novel, Rizieq's status as an Indonesian citizen is clear, and his father, Hussein Shihab, fought against colonialism. 

Following the pros and cons of extending FPI's permit as a mass organization, an online petition requesting the revocation of Shihab's status appeared. The man has been in Saudi Arabia since he was named as a pornography suspect in 2017. The investigation is currently halted. 

The petition was addressed to President Jokowi, Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo, Law and Human Rights Minister Yasona Laoly, and Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Wiranto. The petition claimed that Rizieq Shihab is the person most responsible for numerous provocative acts that reject the presidential elections result. 

"If we only demand the disbandment of FPI, it is not enough. Rizieq will only form another organization with a different name yet with similar behaviors," part of the petition said. 

The petition was created on May 17, 2019, and has since been signed by tens of thousands. As of 20:30 Friday, June 7, more than 69,000 people have signed the petition, just over 5,000 signatures away from its goal.  

Similar petitions have emerged online; two rejecting FPI's permit extension, and two countering ones—supporting the staunch group existence.

ADAM PRIREZA 

Read: Petition Denying Rizieq Shihab Citizenship Emerges