The Permadi case<\/p>\n
In connection with Mr. Dan Adams' letter (The Jakarta Post,
\nAug. 28, 1995), I am pleased to send you a copy of Mr. Permadi's
\ntalk, given during the "Panel Forum on the Indonesian
\nPresidency," held on April 27 and April 28, 1994 at the Gajah
\nMada University campus.<\/p>\n
I was also invited to be one of the speakers and my paper
\ntouched on the proposed Presidency Act. My turn was on April 27,
\nthe day before Mr. Permadi delivered his speech.<\/p>\n
It was very unfortunate indeed that, during the question and
\nanswer session, a student (who was actually preparing his thesis
\non the Indonesian Presidency) raised the problem of
\n"dictatorship", which is not mentioned in Permadi's paper.<\/p>\n
First of all, it is useful to understand the meaning of the
\nword "dictator". According to Webster's New World Dictionary
\n(College Edition), it has four meanings:<\/p>\n
1. in ancient Rome, a magistrate with supreme authority,
\nappointed in times of emergency;<\/p>\n
2. a ruler with absolute power and authority;<\/p>\n
3. a person whose word must be obeyed;<\/p>\n
4. a person who speaks aloud words for someone else to write
\ndown.<\/p>\n
The second and the third meanings are relevant in the Permadi
\ncase.<\/p>\n
Cindy Adams wrote a book titled My Friend (i.e. President
\nSukarno), the Dictator. Edward Corwin, in his book entitled The
\nPresident, Office and Powers, mentioned President Lincoln as a
\ndictator, and Mohammad Hatta (the late vice president), in his
\nbook Sekitar Proklamasi (Around the Proclamation), called
\nPresident Sukarno a dictator. Neither of the three authors were
\nsummoned to court.<\/p>\n
I think the reason is because the author did not have a so-
\ncalled animus injuriandi (intention to insult) toward the
\nPresident. Whether or not Mr. Permadi does have the intention to
\ninsult the Holy Prophet Muhammad (God's blessings and peace be
\nupon him), it is up to the three judges who are handling the case
\nat the Sleman District Court in Yogyakarta to decide.<\/p>\n
It is interesting to note that when Mr. Permadi's wife visited
\nme recently, she told me that her husband had actually planned to
\ngo to Mecca to perform umroh (the lesser pilgrimage). I hope he
\nwill have the opportunity to carry out his plan after he is out
\nof jail.<\/p>\n
In any case, I agree with Mr. Dan Adams' remark that "if
\nPermadi said something so terrible, as to sow seeds of hatred,
\nwhy did it take a whole year before those seeds ever broke the
\nsurface".<\/p>\n
It should be noted that the majority of the audience were
\nMoslems and that Permadi's speech was not given in Hyde Park.<\/p>\n
HARUN ALRASID<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-permadi-case-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }