Radical Indonesian cleric gives backing to presidential hopeful Anies

KUALA LUMPUR -- Indonesian presidential hopeful Anies Baswedan has received backing from a firebrand cleric who was once the spiritual leader of an extremist group behind the 2002 Bali bombings, the country's deadliest terrorist attack.

In an audio recording that went viral on social media this month, Abu Bakar Bashir, 85, described Jakarta's former governor as the candidate who would "try to govern this country with Islamic laws as much as possible."