Ma'ruf Amin (R) signs documents alongside Indonesian President Joko Widodo on August 10

No, an Indonesian vice presidential candidate did not fail a medical test required to run in 2019 elections

This article is more than one year old.
Published on August 27, 2018 at 11:00
1 min read
By AFP Indonesia

An online article said Ma’ruf Amin, the 75-year-old running mate of Indonesian President Joko Widodo, failed a medical test required of every candidate running in next year’s elections, citing the country’s electoral commission. The commission announced Amin passed his health test.

An August 12 article by pojoksatu.id carries a headline that translates to: “KH Ma’ruf Amin fails medical test, this is the explanation from Indonesia's general elections commission.”

A candidate who fails the required medical cannot compete in Indonesia's presidential or vice presidential elections.

While the headline states Amin failed the test, the article itself reports only that he took it and that many people believed he would fail it.

“Many people believe cleric Ma’ruf Amin will not pass the medical test. This is based on his age and physical condition,” the article said.

Ilham Saputra, a commissioner at the General Elections Commission (KPU), told AFP that the pojoksatu.id report was incorrect, adding that the agency announced that Amin had passed his medical.

“There is no illness that can interfere with their duties as president and vice president,” Saputra said, referring to Amin and the other candidates running.

Kompas TV broadcast the August 14 press conference announcing the medical results, the footage of which is available its YouTube channel.

KPU chairman Arief Budiman’s announcement that Amin had passed his medical examination can be seen at 1:37 on the YouTube video.

Amin has “no physical or emotional disability that can interfere with his duties as the vice president”, Budiman told the press conference.

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