Ihsanuddin, Jakarta – The Indonesian Trade Union Confederation (KSPI) has held an event declaring Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) chairperson Prabowo Subianto as their candidate for the 2019 presidential election.
The declaration was made at the Senayan Sports Arena (Istora) in Central Jakarta to coincide with Labour Day on Tuesday May 1.
Organising committee chairperson Riden Hatam Ajiz said that all the workers attending the event had to buy tickets costing 15,000 rupiah (around US$1.50) per person.
“Those who have already bought a 15,000 [rupiah] ticket can enter the Istora and take part in the declaration along with Prabowo”, said Ajiz.
He said that tickets were not available at the door but had been pre-sold over the last week. Workers from the KSPI in their respective regions were organised to buy tickets for the Prabowo declaration.
“It was the regional coordinators that arranged the ticket sales, and now at the Istora they only have to show their tickets to go in”, said the Indonesian Metal Workers Trade Union Federation (FSPMI) central leadership board general secretary.
Ajiz revealed that the profits from the ticket sales of 15,000 rupiah per person will be used as operational funds for the declaration of KSPI’s support for Prabowo at the Istora today. “So we are working together for the event”, he said.
If there are any leftover funds from the ticket sales, the money will go into the KSPI’s organsational coffers.
The use of prepaid tickets was because the Istora Senayan’s capacity is limited and can only accommodate 8,000 people. Meanwhile the number of workers that are part of KSPI are claimed to be more than that.
Despite requiring prepaid tickets, the Istora Senayan appeared to be full of workers.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was Deklarasi Dukung Prabowo, Buruh KSPI Beli Tiket Rp 15.000 Per Orang.]
