Golkar man to be asked on Permadi<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Police will be questioning a senior official of
\nthe ruling Golkar party who publicly accused soothsayer Permadi
\nSatrio Wiwoho of blasphemy.<\/p>\n
Police Chief Gen. Banurusman Astrosemitro said yesterday that
\nDin Syamsuddin will be questioned in connection with the illicit
\nmass production and sale of Permadi's controversial audio tapes
\nin Central Java.<\/p>\n
The tapes contain Permadi's comments, from a closed seminar at
\nthe Gajah Mada University, in which he allegedly described
\nProphet Muhammad as a dictator.<\/p>\n
Syamsuddin, who heads Golkar's research and development
\nsection and did not attend the seminar, insists that the remark
\nwas blasphemous and that the psychic account for it before the
\ncourt.<\/p>\n
Banurusman said police are yet to determine when Syamsuddin
\nwill be summoned for questioning.<\/p>\n
\"He will be questioned in connection with the illicit mass
\nproduction and sale of the cassettes,\" he told journalists.<\/p>\n
Permadi is also in trouble for the remarks he made in the
\nseminar and in an interview last year with Radio Unisi, of
\nYogyakarta. In the seminar, he allegedly likened Golkar with the
\noutlawed Indonesian Communist Party, while in the talk show he
\npredicted political calamity will occur this year.<\/p>\n
Golkar chief Harmoko has planned to sue him for the comment.
\nMinister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher will also file a
\nlawsuit against him for accusing his ministry of embezzling
\nenormous amounts of money from the yearly haj pilgrims it
\norganizes.<\/p>\n
Numerous Moslem groups under Golkar have taken to the streets
\nto condemn Permadi for his allegedly blasphemous remarks and
\ndemanded that he be brought before the court.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the Moslem-oriented United Development Party,
\nIsmail Hasan Metareum, likens Permadi to Salman Rushdie, a
\nBritish author who wrote the book Satanic Verses, which Moslems
\nconsider blasphemous.<\/p>\n
But not all local Moslem leaders condemn Permadi. Abdurrahman
\nWahid, chairman of the 30 million member Nahdlatul Ulama, for
\nexample, says there was nothing blasphemous in the paranormal's
\nremarks.<\/p>\n
Forum Demokrasi, which Gus Dur, as he is popularly known,
\nleads made a statement yesterday that the Permadi affair shows
\nhow the people in power turn public sentiment into \"political
\nenergy.\"<\/p>\n
The statement, signed by the chairman of the forum's working
\ngroup, Bondan Gunawan, said that the government has used the
\npublic resentment as part of its crackdown on elements critical
\nof its policies. (bsr\/pan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/golkar-man-to-be-asked-on-permadi-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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