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Vice presidential candidate Boediono’s perceived lack of religious credentials remains a continuing source of attention, even by his coalition allies.

Perhaps seeking to firm up support for Boediono within his Islam-based party, Tifatul Sembiring, chairman of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), offered to bring Boediono with him for a minor hajj pilgrimage prior to the July 8 poll.

The offer, thought to be motivated by talk that Boediono is not sufficiently devout in his Muslim beliefs, was rejected on Friday by Marzuki Alie, the secretary general of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party, on whose ticket Boediono is running.
Marzuki said the offer was declined because it had political overtones. “It was actually a good proposal to counter challenges by other candidates,” he added, referring to rivals’ attacks on Boediono’s Muslim credentials.

PKS is among the parties in a coalition backing Yudhoyono’s ticket, but even its leaders have said that some of their party members were suspicious of the ticket’s religious values.

PKS spokesman Ahmad Mabruri said on Friday that Tifatul conveyed the proposal to the Yudhoyono-Boediono team last week.
During a coalition meeting in Bandung on Friday, Boediono appeared to address the fuss, telling supporters “to stay solid. Don’t get provoked easily by ‘weird’ issues surrounding me and Yudhoyono.”

Last month, after both opponents and allies raised questions over the fact that Yudhoyono’s wife did not wear a headscarf, the president called on his coalition partners to avoid using symbols related to religion or race during the campaign period, saying such moves would not be constructive.

PKS deputy secretary-general Zulkieflimansyah had fanned the religious embers, saying that a number of their supporters might vote for Vice President Jusuf Kalla and Wiranto because their wives wore headscarves every day.

Marzuki said on Friday that the president’s campaign team had discussed Tifatul’s offer but decided against it because “it was full of political nuance.”

“It is up to Pak Boediono whether to go or not,” Marzuki said. “He said the offer was a good one, but he said the timing was not right. He said that he had performed a minor hajj pilgrimage before, so why should it be politicized?”

But Tifatul said on Thursday that the offer was purely for religious reasons. “It [will take place] during the silent [campaign] period,” he said, referring to the days prior to the election during which campaign messages are banned.

A PKS source, however, said the PKS central board needed help bringing their members into the fold, and the pilgrimage would have been a good move.

“It would be easier for us to secure solid support from our members if [Boediono] could show his credentials as a good Muslim. Our members are very critical, you know,” the source said.

Boediono has not made the full hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, and after he was named as Yudhoyono’s vice presidential candidate, rumors began to circulate about his Muslim identity. His family is said to practice the syncretic Islam Kejawen, which intertwines Islam with ancient Javanese traditions.

On Friday, Boediono performed Friday prayers at the Bandung Institute of Technology’s Salman mosque. He also attended a discussion on Shariah economics, organized by local mosques.