REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Election Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) said a site that has spread slander against vice presidential candidate of the opposition camp, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno was a form of black campaign in election. The site could be rated as criminal offense against information and electronic transactions law and could be reported to the police.

“If there is site like that, which contents are directed towards pornographic content, it can be said as a black campaign,” Bawaslu member Rahmat Bagja said on Wednesday (Sept 26).

Bawaslu, however, has not received a report related to Sandiaga scandal site. Despite of that, Bagja suggested the site to be immediately taken down to prevent spreading of slander.

Bagja said decision to be presidential or vice presidential candidates was indeed followed by the risk that they personal life would be exposed. However, exposure to family life also needed to be limited.

"A person's privacy is related to the bedroom, home, so people don't need to know. However, whether the presidential candidate or vice president have house, wife, and children, the people does need to know,” Bagja explained.

Bagja reiterated that things that related to slanderous should not be spreaded.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Communication and Informatics has taken down the site as requested by the police. It was considered to violate information and electronic transactions law.

"We take down the site not because of election," Minister Rudiantara said in his office, Jakarta, on Wednesday.

Previously, Sandiaga has asked his supporters to not get carried away in responding to the slanderous site. He took it as a part of his struggle. Moreover, his families were ready to face such slander.

"We are committed to reject hoax and we expect it will also be the commitment of all parties," Sandiaga said in Bogor, West Java, on Tuesday (Sept 25).

Site that spread slander against Sandiaga emerged concurrently with the start of presidential election 2019 campaign period. The campaign began on Sunday (Sept 23) and the site started to circulate on Monday (Sept 24).

TKN Jokowi-Ma'ruf Amin secretary Hasto Kristiyanto earlier remarked that his side had prohibited negative campaigning against other candidates. "We are prohibited to speak negatively about Prabowo-Sandi," he noted.

Kristiyanto said negative acts would only have a detrimental impact on the future of the nation, including spreading hoaxes, as they would only poison the nation's civilization and pollute Pancasila democratic minds.

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