Minister Of Religion Reminds Not To Choose Immediate Leaders, See Trace Records

Minister of Religion (Menag) Yaqut Cholil Qoumas. (doc. Ministry of Religion)

JAKARTA - Minister of Religion (Menag) Yaqut Cholil Qoumas asked that religion not be used as a tool for politics. "Religiously, don't use it as a tool to seize power, don't make religion a political tool," he said in Solo, Central Java, Friday, September 29, it was confiscated by Antara. Moreover, he said, now it has entered the political year where next year a simultaneous election will be held. He said that general elections are only a mechanism to determine or find out who is leading the nation. "This is just a mechanism, this is not a war, it is not a death-living battle that there must be victims but only a mechanism to determine who is the leader who will command this big country called Indonesia," he said. Therefore, he hopes that as a religious person, then all Indonesian citizens must maintain a conducive atmosphere by becoming an agent and actor who maintains the peace of the election next year. "It is not permissibility that all of us this become the wrong part, mutually hostile, insulting to each other, it is not permissible. Religious people should realize that elections, political year is only a mechanism to determine who is leading this country," he said. Even so, he said, in choosing a leader, it is not permissible. "As a religious community, we have the obligation to choose the right leader so that the religion that we believe, the religion we hold closely can be maintained, it can remain guaranteed to be sustainable, and guaranteed that its people carry out worship without any disturbance," he said.

"Don't because you talk good, your mouth is sweet, your face is handsome, you are chosen. Don't be careless, you have to look at the track record first, the track record is good, thank God his face is handsome, thank God he spoke sweetly, it was chosen," he said.

He asked the public not to risk this country on people who do not pay attention to society. He said religion with politics cannot be separated. However, religion should not be used as a political tool to fulfill the desire for power.

"Don't use religion to fulfill the desire to seize power, it can't be because there are different choices and then the different ones are infidels. We still remember, there was bad use of religion in politics some time ago, during the election of the Governor of DKI Jakarta and the Presidential Election," he said. Therefore, he invites all parties to maintain the religion held firmly. "We keep it so that (religious, ed.) it is not used as a tool to fight for power. Don't choose people who use religion for their political interests," he said.