Ade Armando: I Hear Voices in PSI Saying I Should Be Expelled
Social media activist and former PSI politician Ade Armando has begun speaking candidly about the reasons for his resignation from the party following his legal case over alleged incitement and hate speech.
Ade officially stepped down from the party led by Kaesang Pangarep on 5 May during a press conference at the PSI DPP office in Jakarta. At the time, he stated that the reports against him for alleged hate speech had dragged PSI too far and could hinder the party’s electability ahead of the 2029 elections.
However, in an interview on the YouTube channel Zulfan Lindan Unpacking on Monday (11/5), Ade revealed another fact. He mentioned that for a long time, there have indeed been parties within PSI urging that he be expelled.
“If you say is there pressure like that, actually, I’ve already heard voices within PSI saying that I should be dismissed, expelled,” Ade said.
Ade has permitted his interview to be quoted. In his admission, Ade stated that there are parties within the party who consider his presence in PSI to disrupt the party’s rebranding, although he admits he does not fully understand the meaning of PSI’s new image.
However, Ade, for example, illustrated that his presence in PSI now makes it difficult for the party with the new Elephant logo to be accepted by Muslim voters. He claims to have heard whispers that he is no longer accepted.
Even so, according to Ade, to date, no one has spoken directly to him asking him to leave the party.
“Well, it’s said that I should no longer be in PSI. I’ve heard that even though no one has spoken directly to me,” Ade said.
Beyond that, he mentioned that PSI is now beginning to undergo changes to improve the party’s electability to enter parliament. In fact, outside of his case, he believes PSI will enter parliament with the help of Indonesia’s seventh President, Joko Widodo.
“What needs to be done is to use Mr Jokowi’s strength to attract Jokowi’s supporters to glance at and support PSI. That’s what we must do,” he said.
Ade assesses that PSI’s changes through the new rebranding have left behind old values such as pluralism and respect for diversity. He stated that a number of new party cadres to attract new voters are far outside the corridor.
“The problem is interpreted like this, basically, whenever there is a commotion with groups that call themselves Islamic groups, it must be immediately responded to but not in an elegant way,” Ade said.
In his legal case, Ade exemplified that the response from PSI or outsiders calling him a provocateur does not make sense. In fact, he was only expressing criticism of Jusuf Kalla’s statement in a lecture at UGM.
According to Ade, the case became the tip of the iceberg for him to resign from the party, because it would hinder the party from gaining votes from Muslim voters.
“I don’t want to blame. But at that time, PSI itself did not support me. Because as I said earlier, I’ve heard sentences like Ade Armando is very disruptive, just let him go,” Ade said.
In response, PSI DPP Political Chairman Bestari Barus reminded Ade that he is no longer part of the party. Thus, the legal process against him is entirely his personal responsibility.
Meanwhile, regarding the party, Bestari stated that Ade, after the last congress in Solo, was never involved in internal management activities. He described Ade as just an ordinary administrator.
“It is important for the general public to know that Armando was never involved in managing PSI after the Solo congress. Just an ordinary member who happened to be given the opportunity to become a PSI legislative candidate,” he said.
Bestari stated that Ade has gone too far into areas that were never his concern. He also reminded Ade to start introspecting.
“Instead of that, it would be better for brother Ade Armando to introspect and reorganise himself and not interfere in managing the PSI institution from now on,” Bestari said.