Jakarta (Antara Bali) - Vice presidential candidate Hatta Rajasa attended a grand religious sermon assembly (tabligh akbar) with noted preacher Abdullah Gymnastiar (Aa Gym) at Istiqlal Mosque here on Sunday.
The tabligh event was also attended by a number of public figures such as Bogor Mayor Bima Arya Sugiarto, West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan, Justice and Prosperous Party politician Hidyat Nurwahid and renown educational figure Arief Rachman.
More than 1,000 Muslims packed the Istiqlal, the biggest mosque in Southeast Asia. They came from various cities such as Bandung of West Java and Jakartas buffer zone cities of Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi.
The religious sermon assembly was held in connection with the 15th anniversary of Daarut Tauhid religious assembly under the leadership of Aa Gym.
In his address, Gogor Mayor Bima Arya said the Daarut Tauhid had contributed efforts to educate the people and make the nations life intelligent.
The event was held on the first day of the fasting month of Ramadan and amid the presidential campaigns which will end on July 5 before the presidential election is held on July 9, 2014.
Indonesia will be organizing a free and democratic presidential election on July 9, 2014, which will be contested by only two pairs of presidential and vice-presidential candidates: Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa and Joko Widodo (Jokowi)-Jusuf Kalla.
Prabowo Subianto is a retired military general and the chairman of Gerindra (Great Indonesia Movement) Party, while his running mate, Hatta Rajasa, is a former coordinating minister for economic affairs and the chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN).
Jokowi is Jakartas governor and a cadre of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), while his running mate, Jusuf Kalla (JK), is a former vice president and a senior politician of the Golkar Party.
The Prabowo-Hatta pair is supported by Gerindra, PAN, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the United Development Party (PPP), the Crescent and Star Party (PBB), and the Golkar Party, whose current chairman is Aburizal Bakrie, owner of TV One.
The Jokowi-JK pair is supported by five political parties: the Indonesia Democratic Party Struggle (PDIP), the Nation Awakening Party (PKB), the Peoples Conscience Party (Hanura), the Justice and Indonesian Unity Party (PKPI), and the National Democrats Party (Nasdem) established by Surya Paloh, owner of Metro TV and the Media Indonesia newspaper.(WDY)
