Golkar official pushes for prosecution of soothsayer<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A Golkar official visited the Attorney General's
\nOffice yesterday to push the ruling political group's campaign to
\nprosecute soothsayer Permadi Satrio Wiwoho for slander.<\/p>\n
Agung Laksono, deputy chairman of Golkar's central executive
\nboard, met with deputy attorney general Mohammad Hasan to discuss
\nthe plan to prosecute the mystic for comparing Golkar to the
\noutlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).<\/p>\n
"We found that parts of his address at a Gadjah Mada
\nUniversity seminar on April 20 last year were clearly disparaging
\nthe reputation of Golkar. They were also slanderous and not based
\non facts," Agung reported.<\/p>\n
In his speech, Agung said, Permadi essentially accused Golkar
\nof "being worse" than the PKI. "Such a statement clearly offended
\nGolkar and we could not let him get away with that.<\/p>\n
"Golkar was at the front line in crushing the communist forces
\nin Indonesia. But now we have this accusation."<\/p>\n
PKI, one of the largest political parties in Indonesia in the
\nearly 1960s, was accused of masterminding the coup attempt
\nagainst then President Sukarno in September 1965. The party was
\noutlawed the following year.<\/p>\n
Golkar formally filed a complaint with the police accusing
\nPermadi of slander on March 25.<\/p>\n
Permadi, who has been in police custody since March, is also
\nfacing charges of blaspheming Islam during the same seminar at
\nGadjah Mada university last year.<\/p>\n
Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher has also announced
\nhis intention to sue the soothsayer for accusing his ministry of
\nembezzling haj pilgrimage funds.<\/p>\n
Permadi has denied the allegations of blasphemy, saying that
\nhis remarks were taken out of context and manipulated by his
\ncritics. He has not, however, denied the accusations levied by
\nGolkar and Tarmizi.<\/p>\n
"We hope the Attorney General's Office will be able to take
\nour case to court," Agung said, pointing out that he had been
\nasked by Golkar chairman Harmoko to pursue the matter.<\/p>\n
Golkar's determination is also expected to encourage other
\nmembers of the public to resolve their problems through legal
\nchannels instead of taking the law into their own hands, he said.<\/p>\n
There were a series of street demonstrations calling for
\nPermadi's head in March following the disclosure of his remarks.
\nThe protests subsided after the authorities promised to
\ninvestigate.<\/p>\n
Agung came to the Attorney General's Office accompanied by
\nlawyers from LPPH, a legal aid institute affiliated with the
\npolitical organization. The lawyers were Farida Kadariyah, Martin
\nHutabarat, Taufik Hidayat and Sofyan Sukri.<\/p>\n
"We hope the investigation will begin soon," Agung said,
\nadding that to support the case, Golkar will present a cassette
\nrecording of the seminar, a transcript of the seminar and
\nclippings from Gatra newsweekly which quote some of Permadi's
\nremarks. (emb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/golkar-official-pushes-for-prosecution-of-soothsayer-1447893297",
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