Indonesian online marketplace denies allegations of supporting IS

JAKARTA — Online marketplace Bukalapak has denied allegations that it channeled donations to the Islamic State radical group through the Indonesia-based humanitarian organization Aksi Cepat Tanggap (ACT). The company further explained that the cooperation between the company and ACT was to provide educational assistance to children in West Sumatra and eastern Indonesia.

Bukalapak founder and CEO Achmad Zaky said via his Twitter account on Tuesday that donations from Bukalapak users were allocated to fund ACT’s program Peduli Pendidikan Tepian Negeri (care for education on the country’s periphery), in which children from isolated areas were provided with school supplies and scholarships, to name a few.

“Your donations were dedicated for education development in West Sumatra and eastern Indonesia [..] We don’t have any intention other than seeing our sisters and brothers’ smiles as they go to school,” said Zaky, via account @achmadzaky.

“Therefore, let’s work hand-in-hand to do the best for the sake of our beloved nation,” he added, using the hashtag #SpreadLoveNotHatred.

Zaky’s tweet was in response to a “misleading” message widely spread on the internet in the past few days, which suggested that Bukalapak had channeled financial aid to the IS headquarters in Aleppo city, Syria, through the “extremist-supporting” ACT.

Bukapalak has previously denied the allegation on its website, saying that “the information is not true and misleading. Bukalapak is cooperating with various certified humanitarian institutions such as ACT, BAZNAS and Dompet Dhuafa […] to channel donations from users.”

The Communications and Information Ministry has marked the message as a “hoax” on its official website kominfo.go.id.