T

he Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) has found itself in a politically awkward situation after finding out that the sibling of the presidential candidate it is rooting for accused it of carrying out anti-Christian policies.

PKS secretary-general Taufik Ridho said on Tuesday that the party would demand clarification from Hashim Djojohadikusumo, the Gerindra Party'€™s deputy chief patron and brother of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, over his claim that the Islamic party had dismissed dozens of Christian officials from the Agriculture Ministry.

Hashim, who is chief patron of Gerindra'€™s Christian wing organization, made the statement during a speech at the USINDO Open Forum Luncheon in Washington, a video of which was uploaded to YouTube by an account using the name GerindraTV on Oct. 14 last year.

He said: '€œAt the Agriculture Ministry, which is controlled by the PKS, 73 civil servants have been fired in the past nine years. In fact, there are currently no Christian officials at the Agriculture Ministry.'€

In the speech, Hashim also claimed that Prabowo was pro-US and his party would fight against the surge of religious intolerance in recent years.

The PKS, as a member of the ruling coalition, has controlled the ministry since 2004. The ministry is currently led by PKS politician Suswono, who replaced fellow party member Anton Apriyantono.

Taufik said the party would likely discuss the matter.

'€œI think if [Hashim] could provide clarification [on the matter], it will be great.'€

PKS senior politician Hidayat Nur Wahid said Hashim should produce evidence to support his claim, adding he was convinced that there were still non-Muslims working at the ministry.

Hidayat, however, believed that the issue had been addressed before the party joined the Gerindra-led coalition.

'€œAs far as I know, the matter has been clarified,'€ he said.

On Monday, when asked about the footage, Hashim said he stuck by his opinion, saying the government was not supposed to tolerate the ministry'€™s decision.

'€œIt cannot be tolerated. It cannot be accepted,'€ he said.

Prabowo'€™s supporters were allegedly behind campaigns questioning the religion of his rival Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo.

Gerindra deputy secretary-general who is also Hashim'€™s son, Aryo Djojohadikusumo, however, down played the potential rift that the video might cause . '€œNo, it wouldn'€™t [jeopardize the coalition] because we believe in working together and communicating for a better Indonesia with Pak Prabowo as President,'€ he said.

Gerindra has won the support of three Islamic parties '€” the PKS, the United Development Party (PPP) and the Crescent Star Party (PBB).

Prabowo, who is running with National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Hatta Rajasa, has made attempts to gain support from the Muslim electorate.

Last week, the notorious Islam Defenders Front (FPI), which is believed to be responsible for many cases of intolerance, declared its support for Prabowo, whose mother was a Christian while his two sisters are also Christian.

Aryo said the PKS should have known about the speech before it joined Gerindra'€™s coalition, since the footage was old.

'€œOne of the strengths of the PKS is their online and social media presence, so they must have seen his speech last year,'€ he said. '€œIf they have any comments or input regarding Pak Hashim'€™s remarks, they would'€™ve done it long ago.'€

Gerindra politician Fadli Zon also down played the speech, saying it was only Hashim'€™s opinion, thus, did not reflect the party'€™s stance on the PKS.

'€œWe don'€™t want to make a big deal out of it,'€ he said on Tuesday.