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Teachers group reports Prabowo for allegedly campaigning at schools

Jakarta Globe - June 25, 2014

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Dessy Sagita, Jakarta – A teachers association reported presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto to the Election Supervisory Body, or Bawaslu, after several schools received a letter urging teachers to vote for the former general.

"We decided to file a report after receiving reports from our teachers and school staffs that they have received letters from Prabowo Subianto," Retno Listyarti, secretary-general of the Federation of Indonesian Teachers Associations (FSGI), told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday.

Ratna, who is also a principal at a high school in East Jakarta, said the letter – signed by Prabowo – was mailed to teachers and staff at the address of the school.

"I did not receive one, so I asked permission from one of the teachers to see what's written in the letter and it contained the mission and vision of Prabowo Subianto for the country's education system as well as a suggestion to vote for him as president," she said.

"This should be classified a campaigning and according to the [election] regulation the political campaign has no place in educational institutions."

Retno said that the FSGI also received reports from several other high schools in Jakarta and outside the capital that their teachers and staff received the same letter.

"If the letters were addressed to the teachers and staffs' home, I would not make a fuss. But those letters were sent directly to the schools. This is a violation of the election regulation," she said.

Retno said FSGI demanded that Bawaslu immediately summon Prabowo and ask him to stop campaigning in educational institutions.

Should Bawaslu decide to take up the case, it is then passed on to the National Police to investigate. If found guilty, penalties for violation of election rules range from a warning to dismissal of candidacy, which would be the harshest.

Prabowo faces Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo in the July 9 presidential election. The winning candidate will succeed President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, whose second five-year term ends in October.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/teachers-group-reports-prabowo-allegedly-campaigning-schools/.