Safrin La Batu, Jakarta – Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) deputy advisory chairman Hidayat Nurwahid has asked party supporters to stay alert to the possible deployment of foreigners to vote for a particular candidate in the Jakarta gubernatorial election.
Speaking in front of thousands of PKS supporters during a mass campaign event for candidate pair Anies Baswedan-Sandiaga Uno on Sunday, Hidayat asked them to watch their surroundings to check whether foreigners were voting at polling stations in their respective areas during election day on Feb. 15.
"After casting your vote, please stay for a while and make conversation with any person [suspected of being a foreigner]. Ask him or her questions using the Javanese language. If they do not answer, ask in Sundanese. If they do not respond again, ask them using Indonesian because probably he or she can only speak in Indonesian," Hidayat said.
"If they do not speak Indonesian, even though they are holding an e-KTP [electronic ID], the e-KTP is possibly fake," he said. "Report them to the police if that is the case," he added.
Hidayat did not mention the name of the candidate suspected of engaging in such a foul play, or the nationalities he suspected would be deployed to illegally vote in the election.
Rumors have circulated recently claiming that Chinese foreigners will be equipped with fake Indonesian ID cards to cast votes for a certain candidate.
During Sunday's campaign, Anies asserted that he and his running mate, Sandiaga, would win the election unless there was fraud, including the presence of illegal voters at polling stations. (ebf)