JAKARTA – Indonesian President Joko Widodo has clarified comments that he made about his right under the law to campaign for election candidates, following criticism from netizens and representatives of presidential candidates that he is trying to cling on to power.

Mr Widodo said on Jan 26 that he was replying to journalists asking about Cabinet ministers participating in the hustings when he made the comments two days earlier that holding public office did not restrict him from campaigning for any election contenders.

In a recorded statement uploaded onto the YouTube page of the presidential secretariat, Mr Widodo said his comments should not be taken out of context.

“Don’t interpret it elsewhere. I simply conveyed the provisions of the law, because I was asked,” said the President.

In the video, he held up a large piece of paper indicating how the president and vice-president are allowed to participate in election campaigns, according to Indonesian law.

Under the prevailing laws in Indonesia, sitting presidents, vice-presidents and other state officials are allowed to engage in campaign activities, but are prohibited from using state facilities and are required to take leave when participating in such activities.

The same law also prohibits “state officials, structural officials and functional officials in state positions, as well as village heads, from making decisions and/or taking actions that benefit or harm one of the election (candidates) during the campaign period”.

On Jan 24, Mr Widodo, or Jokowi as he is commonly known as, made headlines when he said that a sitting president was free to back any presidential candidate, in response to media questions.

The president was also entitled to campaign for the candidate of choice in his or her free time, provided there was no use of government facilities while doing so, said Mr Widodo.

“Yes, a president can join the campaign. Yes, a president can pick a side. All that is permitted as long as he does not use state facilities,” Mr Widodo told reporters, adding that presidents and ministers had the same “democratic right” as every citizen to support their preferred candidates.

The President made the comments as he stood next to Defence Minister and presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, after a handover ceremony at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base in East Jakarta for new military equipment.

Mr Prabowo, who is Mr Widodo’s former rival in previous elections, is now running with Mr Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who is the President’s son and mayor of Solo.

The other presidential candidates are former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan, who is running with Mr Muhaimin Iskandar, and former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo, who is running with Chief Security Minister Mahfud MD.

More than 200 million eligible voters are expected to head to the polls on Feb 14.

Reactions to Mr Widodo’s earlier sentiments from Mr Prabowo’s competitors have been largely negative.

Campaigner Ari Yusuf Amir from the Anies-Muhaimin campaign team said on Jan 25 that it intended to report Mr Widodo to the Indonesian Election Supervisory Agency, or Bawaslu, for causing political instability in the country.

But Mr Anies clarified the next day that he ordered his team to refrain from making such a report.

Mr Ganjar’s team has called on Mr Widodo to maintain ethical principles and act as a statesman. Campaigner Chico Hakim said that the President actively campaigning for his son’s ticket “will certainly prompt stronger public perception about nepotism”.

Netizens have also voiced their concern. On social media platform X, formerly Twitter, users have been using the hashtag #GerakanUnfollJokowi (#movetounfollowjokowi) to criticise his comments.

Tagging Mr Widodo’s account, user @Dennysiregar7 said on Jan 26: “Sorry, I will unfollow yeah. I do not believe in you any more.” As at Jan 27, his tweet has garnered more than 9,000 likes and has been shared almost 2,000 times.

Other users like @yusuf_dumdum and @PreciosaKanti have also posted similar comments, complete with photos or videos of them unfollowing Mr Widodo’s X account.

“Sorry, Mr @jokowi, I will be unfollowing. Stay healthy always,” said @yusuf_dumdum.