People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker Taufik Kiemas said there was no need to ban the Indonesian Islamic State (NII) movement like the Indonesian Communist Party, because the former had not attempted a coup like the latter did.
“The most important thing to do is to strengthen our own ideology. We can overcome any problems if we have strong ideology,” he said.
Taufik, who is also chair of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) advisory board, dismissed any idea that his party's members would be susceptible to infiltration by the NII.
“We have strong beliefs. God willing, we’re safe,” he said.
He suggested that the government familiarize people with the state ideology of Pancasila, as radicalism could only be tackled if people banded together.
