Golkar plans to sue Permadi<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The attacks on Permadi Satrio Wiwoho are coming
\nharder and faster with Golkar leaders now announcing their plans
\nto sue the psychic for slander.<\/p>\n
\"Just wait,\" Harmoko, chairman of the ruling political
\ngrouping, said in Semarang yesterday. \"Golkar's executive board,
\nthrough its legal foundation, is making preparations to file a
\nlawsuit against Permadi for insulting Golkar.\"<\/p>\n
Addressing thousands of Golkar supporters, Harmoko denied that
\nthe group had been \"silent\" in the face of Permadi's purported
\ninsult. The soothsayer allegedly compared Golkar to the
\nIndonesian Communist Party (PKI), which has been banned since
\n1966.<\/p>\n
Harmoko said Golkar has been biding its time. \"We're not
\nsilent, we're preparing a counter measure which is in accordance
\nwith the law,\" Harmoko said. All Golkar members are furious over
\nhis statements...They were all vicious insults and slanders.\"<\/p>\n
He reminded the supporters that \"Golkar is actually an
\norganization which had actively campaigned against PKI.\"<\/p>\n
\"This organization is just like a bee ... it never bothers
\nanybody, it benefits other people, but it will sting if it's
\ndisturbed ... Permadi's way out of line,\" he was quoted by the
\nAntara news agency as saying.<\/p>\n
Permadi has been in hot water with Moslem groups and the
\nauthorities for the last two weeks concerning his allegedly
\nblasphemous remarks about Prophet Muhammad, and for insinuations
\nabout Golkar and President Soeharto. He has been in police
\ncustody since Monday.<\/p>\n
He made the controversial remarks on two separate occasions,
\nfirst during a scientific seminar at the Gadjah Mada University
\nand again on a talk show on a Yogyakarta radio station.<\/p>\n
During the talk show, Permadi predicted that the country would
\nbe rocked by political turbulence this year. The soothsayer
\npredicted that Megawati Soekarnoputri, daughter of former
\npresident Sukarno and chief of the Indonesian Democratic Party
\n(PDI), would be the next president.<\/p>\n
His critics have accused Permadi of suggesting that Prophet
\nMuhammad was a dictator who failed to establish social justice.
\nPermadi has said that he was misquoted and that his remarks were
\ntaken out of context.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, 16 Golkar-affiliated youth organizations as well
\nas its legal foundation, LPPH, backed Harmoko's intention to sue
\nPermadi.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the youth organizations quoted Permadi's
\nremarks on Golkar as follows:<\/p>\n
\"Me entering Golkar? Knock on wood. This black clothing will
\nnever be changed with yellow (the color of Golkar). For me, dear
\nacademicians, compare the crimes of the PKI with the present. Did
\nthe PKI ever threaten people into joining the party?\"<\/p>\n
The soothsayer, who is also chairman of the Indonesian
\nAssociation of Paranormals, always appears in black attire.<\/p>\n
LPPH chairman Albert Hasibuan and the youth leader, Moh. Yamin
\nTawary, acknowledged that they had never heard the actual
\nrecordings of Permadi's statements. Instead, they read about them
\nfrom a transcription published in the Gatra weekly.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, six police officers from Yogyakarta are currently
\nbeing questioned at the National Police headquarters in Jakarta.
\nThe six were present at Permadi's lecture at the university.<\/p>\n
Deputy to the National Police chief for operational affairs,
\nMaj. Gen. Koesparmono Irsan, said more people would be summoned
\nto help with the police investigation.<\/p>\n
Officials said Permadi may be charged with blasphemy, a crime
\nthat carries a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment.<\/p>\n
In Yogyakarta, Gadjah Mada University students who organized
\nthe seminar said yesterday that Permadi was only responding to a
\nparticipant's question when he made the allegedly offensive
\nremarks about Islam.<\/p>\n
At the time, Permadi spoke alongside human rights activist
\nAdnan Buyung Nasution, former home minister Rudini, chairman of
\nMuhammadiyah organization Amien Rais, Ali Hardi Kiaidemak of the
\nUnited Development Party (PPP), and Sutardjo Suryoguritno of PDI.<\/p>\n
\"Permadi's remarks about Prophet Muhammad was in response to a
\nparticipant's statement that the prophet's power was centralistic
\nin nature,\" Muhammad Jaedi, a member of the organizer, said. \"At
\nthe time, not one participant showed any kind of reaction.\"<\/p>\n
Tjuk Sahana, the radio station broadcast who hosted the talk
\nshow with Permadi, said that he has also been questioned by the
\nauthorities.<\/p>\n
Tjuk broadcasted only some 15 minutes of the conversation with
\nPermadi, but said that it is the master-recording of the whole
\ninterview, with a duration of 90 minutes, that has been
\ncirculated in Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, the furor over Permadi's remarks continues to
\nfester in many Moslem groups. The Aceh chapter of the influential
\nIndonesian Council of Ulemas has called on the government to
\ncondemn Permadi with the death sentence.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, dozens of Moslem leaders grouped in the Forum
\nUkhuwah Islamiyah have also condemned Permadi. (swe\/29\/mun\/r.
\nfadjri)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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