Although He Has Apologised and Paid the Customary Penalty, Pandji Will Be Questioned Again Next Week Over Toraja Funeral Jokes

Jakarta — The case of alleged hate speech linked to Toraja funeral customs involving comedian Pandji Pragiwaksono continues to unfold. Investigators from the Indonesian National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) again scheduled an interview with Pandji at the start of next week.

The summons was scheduled for Monday, 9 March 2026, to clarify a report filed by the Toraja Youth Alliance regarding Pandji’s stand-up material. The police confirmed the plan for the interview.

‘On Monday indeed Pandji will be summoned by Bareskrim,’ said Senior Commissioner Rizki Agung Prakoso, head of Subdirectorate I of the Cyber Crime Directorate, at Bareskrim Polri, on Friday 6 March 2026.

However, Rizki did not disclose in detail which aspects of the material would be probed during the interview. He only confirmed that the interview was scheduled for around 10:00 WIB in the morning.

Pandji has already undergone a Toraja customary sanction. He was also sentenced to apologise and to pay a penalty consisting of one pig and five chickens.

The customary trial was held at Tongkonan Layuk Kaero, Sangalla, in Tana Toraja Regency, South Sulawesi, on Tuesday 10 February 2026. The adat proceedings were conducted with solemnity and involved representatives from 32 Toraja customary regions.

Pandji attended the ceremony in person, accompanied by his lawyer Haris Azhar. The proceedings were facilitated by the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) as part of the customary dispute resolution mechanism.

During the trial, one Toraja adat leader explained that the sanction imposed is part of a ritual of apology to the ancestors and to the adat community.

‘The complement to the ritual of apology to our ancestors is one pig and five chickens,’ said one of the leaders presiding over the adat proceedings, quoted from the Instagram account @infotoraja on Wednesday, 11 February 2026.

It should be noted that Pandji Pragiwaksono’s interview by Bareskrim investigators marks a new phase in the controversy over alleged insult to the Toraja ethnic group.

On Monday, 2 February 2026, Pandji went to the Bareskrim building in South Jakarta for examination as a reported witness.

In that interview, Pandji said he had to answer dozens of questions, all related to his stand-up material that was under dispute.