Amien Rais Defends Himself After His Statements on Prabowo-Teddy Deemed Slander
Chairman of the Majelis Syura of Partai Ummat, Amien Rais, has spoken out regarding his controversial statement on the closeness between President Prabowo Subianto and State Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya. Amien also touched on democracy and freedom of opinion.
It is known that Amien Rais’s statement regarding the closeness between Prabowo and Teddy has elicited various responses. For instance, Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs (Menkomdigi) Meutya Hafid assessed Amien’s statement as slander.
“I am first certain that democracy runs well if the freedom to express opinions guaranteed by our Basic Law is not restricted or suppressed,” said Amien after the National Congress of Partai Ummat in Sleman on Saturday (2/5/2026), as quoted from detikJogja.
Amien stated that Indonesia is a democratic country, so every individual is free to express opinions. Even if, according to Amien Rais, it contradicts the authorities and other groups of the people.
“Well, then, in a democratic country, people are allowed to express opinions. Contradicting the official authorities, contradicting other groups of the people and so on. But what, the point of conflict, the point of difference is that it concerns the fate of the nation,” he said.
Amien emphasised that he is ready to face legal proceedings if his statement is questioned. He requested that proof be conducted openly.
“I was informed by legal experts that Komdigi has no authority. So the one with authority is Teddy himself, then it will be brought to court. And in court, I am very sure, show it! I ask several specialist doctors whether he is gay or not. That’s it, then we’ll chat again,” he concluded.
As is known, a video of Amien Rais discussing the closeness between Prabowo and Teddy went viral on social media. Based on the circulating video, Amien linked that closeness to issues of morality and said it had exceeded the bounds of professionalism.
Amien also cited historical analogies and claims he called ‘public views’. Amien’s statement sparked controversy. Several parties assessed Amien’s statement as baseless and potentially misleading public opinion.
Amien Rais’s statement about the closeness between Prabowo and Teddy was originally uploaded to the Amien Rais Official YouTube channel. However, the video titled “KEEP THE PALACE AWAY FROM MORAL SCANDALS” is no longer accessible on that YouTube channel as of Saturday afternoon.
Menkomdigi Calls Amien Rais’s Statement Slander
Previously, Menkomdigi Meutya Hafid assessed Amien Rais’s video as an attempt at character assassination. Meutya said Amien Rais’s statement contained hate speech and had the potential to divide the nation.
“The Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) has identified the spread of a video containing narratives of slander, character assassination, and personal attacks directed at the President of the Republic of Indonesia. The video was uploaded by the Chairman of the Majelis Syura of Partai Ummat,” said Meutya in an Instagram post @kemkomdigi on Saturday (2/5).
“Komdigi emphasises that the content of the video is hoaxes, slander, and contains hate speech. The narrative built is an attempt to demean the dignity of the Highest Leader of the State, lacks factual basis, and is part of provocation efforts to create public unrest. This has the potential to divide the nation,” she added.
Komdigi, she said, will take steps in accordance with applicable laws. According to Meutya, the parties who created and participated in distributing and/or transmitting the video knowingly have committed legal violations as regulated in the ITE Law Number 1 of 2024 Article 27A and Article 28 (2).