Gerinda Calls for Tax Boycott

Jakarta. Arief Poyuono, deputy chairman of the opposition Great Indonesia Movement Party, or Gerindra, said supporters of presidential candidate pair Prabowo Subianto and Sandiaga Uno do not need to recognize the official result of the 2019 presidential election.
He said one of the steps they can take to show their opposition is by refusing to pay tax.
"One thing people who reject the result of the 2019 presidential election can do, is to refuse to pay taxes to a government resulting from an illegitimate election. It is their right, because they do not recognize the government that results from the 2019 presidential election," Arief said in Jakarta on Wednesday.
He also called on supporters to boycott the next government by not speaking out against it.
"Prabowo-Sandiaga supporters can perform an act of silence and do not need to launch any criticism against an unconstitutional government, because it is the result of an illegitimate presidential election," he said.
He cited as an example, the boycott movement in 1997, led by Megawati Sukarnoputri, a former president and leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), against the authoritarian Suharto regime. He claimed that the current regime of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo resembles that of the Suharto era.
Arief suggested that Gerindra lawmakers and those from other parties in the coalition supporting Prabowo and Sandiaga refuse to take up their seats in the House of Representatives for the next five years.
"It is a way to not recognize the government [resulting from] the 2019 presidential election," he said. "What is certain, is that other countries will also not recognize the administration [resulting from] the 2019 presidential election. This is important, so that we can preserve an honest, clean and fair democratic system."
Arief also sent a message to his friends in Gerindra, the Prabowo-Sandiaga campaign team and the opposition coalition, who may not agree with his suggestion of boycotting "an administration produced by a fraudulent election and which is illegitimate, because it came from the voice of the devil and not from the voice of the people, the voice of God."
"They are all like demons with scabies that have infiltrated Prabowo-Sandiaga. And they like to steal public money," he said on Thursday, as quoted by Detik.com.
'We'll See'
The Prabowo camp has declared that it will reject the election result, which the General Elections Commission (KPU) is scheduled to announce on May 22.
However, Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak, a spokesman for the Prabowo campaign team, said they would not be challenging the election result in the Constitutional Court like they did after the 2014 presidential election.
"Because there is distrust, we decided that we would not be filing a lawsuit in the Constitutional Court," Dahnil said at a public discussion titled "Fighting Against Structured, Systematic and Massive Fraud in the 2019 Presidential Election" at the campaign team's media center in South Jakarta on Wednesday.
So what will they do instead, if the result does not go their way?
"We'll see. Pray to God," Dahnil said.
"What is clear, is that the Prabowo campaign team will wait for a few more days; as he said, we will focus on ensuring the [election] process runs fairly," the campaign spokesman added.
Tags: Keywords:The Latest
Guardians of the Forest: How the Dayak Wehea Protect Their Ancestral Land
The Dayak Wehea serve as the last guardians of the Wehea Protected Forest, preserving their ancestral land amid modern challenges.Prabowo Eyes $44 Billion Budget Cuts by 2025 to Fund Danantara, Free Meals Program
Prabowo announces Rp 750T budget savings plan to fund Danantara and free meal (MBG) program by 2025.Green Day vs. Linkin Park: Back-to-Back Jakarta Shows, Which Side Are You On?
Green Day and Linkin Park take over Jakarta with back-to-back shows! Punk vs. nu-metal—who will you choose?Prabowo Responds to Criticism Over 'Bloated' Cabinet at Gerindra's 17th Anniversary
President Prabowo Subianto addressed criticism of his 109-member "Red and White Cabinet," which has been labeled as "bloated".Energia Prima Nusantara Launches New Strategy to Spur Growth
Energia Prima Nusantara recently launched its strategy document that laid out its plans to spur business growth.Most Popular
