A grassroots campaign for presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto steeped in an ancient Javanese prophecy about a just king and the end of the world have begun to appear in the Indonesian capital.
Photos of the 50,000 rupiah bank notes, each bearing a stamp reading "Prabowo Satria Piningit Heru Cakra Ratu Adil," hit Twitter over the weekend. The slogan roughly translates to "Prabowo: Satria Piningit, the era of the just king," a not-so-subtle nod to the fabled Satria Piningit (Satrio Piningit in Javanese, "hidden knight" in English) foretold in the Jongko Joyoboyo (Jayabaya prophecies).
According to the ancient prophecy, a just king will rise to power from within Java as the nation hits a low point, ruling the country, and then the globe, in the lead-up to the end of days.
The Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) party has denied a hand in the campaign and accused whoever stamped the bills of attempting to smear Prabowo, the party's chairman.
Presidential candidates are barred from campaigning until three weeks before the July 9 election according to General Elections Commission (KPU) guidelines and the inclusion of the stamp on rupiah notes smacked of money politics, a constant concern during election seasons in Indonesia.
"We are very concerned with this matter," Budi Purnomo Karjodiharjo, coordinator of the Prabowo Media Center, said on Sunday. "The circulation of money stamped with 'Prabowo Satria Piningit Heru Cakra Ratu Adil,' is a black campaign against Prabowo."
The former Kopassus Special Forces general has taken a strong stance against corruption in pre-campaign speeches, making circulation of marked bills, regardless of the sentiment, a stain on Prabowo's anti-corruption claims. The implication, Budi said, is that Prabowo's election team distributed the notes to voters as an incentive to mark Prabowo's name on the July ballot – a claim the team adamantly denies.
"It is impossible that we, or Gerindra, did such a thing," Budi said. "In more ways that one Mr. Prabowo has conveyed his commitment with respect to corruption eradication and being against money politics."
Budi said the campaign team hopes the public can see through any attempts to cast a negative light on their candidate. "It is regrettable if some members of the public believe that we did this," he said.
"But we are certain that people who are smart will not succumb to negative campaigns like this... We will remain patient and strong and we will not be affected by this. We want to keep stepping [forward], keep working, keep striving to win the hearts of the people who want the revival of the Great Indonesia."