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Together in Pluralism
Illustration: Handining
The message of President Jokowi that "If the PKI appears, just clobber it" (Kompas, May 18, 2017), referring the now defunct Indonesian Communist Party, is getting serious attention. The terminology of gebuk (clobber) reminds me of the terms used by then president Soeharto in 1989 and 1997 in the context of responding to maneuvers by political elements in the country.
Linguistically, gebuk means a powerful blow. In politics, its interpretation is wide, as it is sparked by anger to stop one action by suppressing, crushing and even eliminating.