IO, Jakarta – Threats and acts of terror have arisen after the 2019 Elections concluded. Among these is the shooting of 2019 Elections official Ahmad Safari (55 y.o.) by persons unknown on early Friday morning (19/4/2019). Luckily, the Voting Organizer Group (Kelompok Penyelenggara Pemungutan Suara – “KPPS”) Chairman of Voting Points (Tempat Pemungutan Suara – “TPS”) 02 at Isorejo Village, Bunga Mayang District, North Lampung, survived the attack.
A sad incident also occurred in two mosques in Cilandak area, South Jakarta. This is the first time such vandalism had ever occurred in Jami’ Al-Hikmah Mosque at Jalan Lebak Bulus IV RT 008/RW 04, West Cilandak, South Jakarta, and Masjid Jami’ Nurul Falah at Jalan Karang Tengah Raya, Cilandak, South Jakarta. The two mosques were defaced with immoral pictures spray-painted in red early Thursday (18/4/2019) morning.
Jami’ Al-Hikmah’s Takmir Masjid (Mosque Caretaker), Kibay, stated that all of a sudden, several unknown persons defaced the pillars and walls of the Masjid Jami’ Al-Hikmah at about 04.30 a.m. WIB. This took about 5 or 6 minutes. “So about 04.30 that morning, somebody on a motorcycle wearing a full-face helmet, black jacket, and shorts suddenly messed up the mosque’s walls and pillars. It took him about 5 or 6 minutes while we could only look on in amazement. Afterwards, he just went back on his way as if nothing had happened,” he said on the grounds of Masjid Jami’ Al-Hikmah, Saturday (20/4/2019).
Also on Thursday, Masjid Jami’ Nurul Falah became a victim of vandalism. The mosque, located 2 kilometers away from the previous one, was defaced at 3 points: pillars, walls and entryway. The Takmir of Masjid Jami’ Nurul Falah said that the mosque’s caretakers and local residents immediately cleaned off the immoral squiggles. They managed to do so quickly, as the paint was still wet at the time. “Alhamdulillah, Praise Be to Allah, we managed to erase it immediately at the time. We did it in order to spare the view to the flock praying here,” he said.
The occurrence of threats and terror after the 2019 Elections was responded to by former Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Lieut. Gen. of the Army (Ret.) J. Suryo Prabowo. He stated in his Twitter account, “Terror is made from the desecration of places of worship to shootings. Because they know they are losing, they incite riots and chaos. If chaos and riots occur, they could seize the means to take control of the situation. I ask you: is that any way to implement democracy?” (Ekawati)