Assault on Bro Ron Triggered by Misunderstanding, Perpetrators Provoked by Emotions

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The assault on Ronald A. Sinaga, alias Bro Ron, Deputy General Chairman of the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), was triggered by a misunderstanding. This was revealed after Bro Ron and the assault perpetrators, Muhammad Rizal Berhet or Ical and Randi, agreed to reconcile through restorative justice (RJ) at the Menteng Metro Police Station, Central Jakarta, on Thursday (7/5/2026). Randi, the man who threw a punch at Bro Ron during the incident at the MPP law firm office on Monday (4/5/2026), admitted that he acted out of control due to a momentary surge of emotion. That emotion was caused by remarks suspected of racism directed by Bro Ron at Rizal. Randi emphasised that his action was not a form of thuggery, but a spontaneous reaction feeling that his friend had been cornered. He directly apologised to Bro Ron for his emotional actions. “I had no ill intentions at all and I came there not as a thug, and I am also a student. Alhamdulillah, in the meetings over the past few days, everything has been cleared up,” said Randi. A similar admission came from Muhammad Rizal Berhet, the man who had counter-reported Bro Ron for alleged assault and accused him of racist remarks. He acknowledged that he misinterpreted Bro Ron’s words because the situation at the time was very heated. “Regarding what might have been a slight misinterpretation on my part regarding the sentence conveyed by Bro Ron to me at that time, I emotionally and briefly interpreted it as I had previously stated,” said Ical. The lawyer for Ical and Randi, Tegar Putuhena, confirmed that there was indeed a sentence suspected of racism uttered on the scene, which then sparked the commotion. “That’s what happens in the field, both sides emotional. Then there are emotional sentences that might have been misunderstood and became the trigger for all this,” said Tegar. “With this meeting, context was provided, so we can understand that the intention was not in that direction (insult), thus this reconciliation could take place,” he added.