Jakarta – Local residents have removed four campaign banners promoting a caliphate that were installed in North Serpong and along Jl. Raya Serpong, South Tangerang.
The banners included such phrases as "Uniting Ummah under the System of Khilafah Islamiyah" and "Moving Together Toward the Wonders of Khilafah Islamiyah", tempo.co reported on Thursday.
"One of them was found on the side of a footbridge in front of the Less Belles Masions residential complex," Serpong Police chief Comr. Dedy Kurniawan said.
He said the police received reports from residents who rejected the message of the banners. The banners, which had the logo of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), were installed on the sides of two footbridges in North Serpong.
"The banners have been removed and we have handed the case over to the South Tangerang Police special crimes unit," Dedy said.
The head of the PKS fraction at the South Tangerang Council, Siti Chodijah, denied the party's involvement in the banners' installment. "We are deeply concerned about this issue," she said. "The banners in North Serpong have since been removed."
She explained that similar banners had been previously seen in regions that were due to hold regional elections. Siti said the party would keep a close eye on future installments of similar banners.
The idea of caliphate was previously promoted by Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), which was recently disbanded by the government for its anti-Pancasila stance.(rfa)