Bakom Head Expresses Concern Over Amien Rais's Accusations, Warns of Hoax Dangers

“I’m concerned, after seeing Mr Amien Rais’s video; the concern is that Mr Amien Rais, as a figure, as an academic, as a professor with a doctorate, has become a victim of a hoax,” said Qodari in his statement, quoted on Sunday (3/5/2026). Qodari reminded of the importance of the principle of caution and verification in responding to content on social media. He said that public figures can also be influenced by unverified information. Qodari assessed the accusation regarding Teddy as referring to an unverified and manipulative social media video. He assessed that the accusation arose from a mistaken interpretation of content containing a song titled ‘Aku Bukan Teddy’, which was misinterpreted as an authentic statement. “Because the basis of the assessment or accusation that Mr Cabinet Secretary, Mr Teddy, is gay, comes from an account containing a song titled Aku Bukan Teddy, which Mr Amien Rais considered to be sung by Mrs Titiek (Soeharto),” he said. He stated that the video cannot be used as a reference because it is not authentic. According to Qodari, the singer in the video is not Titiek Soeharto, while the images displayed are merely a collage from various sources not directly related to the song’s content. Qodari also mentioned that the content includes a note as entertainment material. He described this case as a real example of the dangers of hoaxes in the social media era, including those exploiting artificial intelligence technology. “So this is an example of the dangers of hoaxes on social media, the dangers of AI, how a figure as intelligent and senior as Mr Amien Rais can become a victim of a hoax. So Mr Amien Rais’s statement about Mr Teddy is based on a hoax,” he said. Previously, the Minister of Communications and Digital (Menkomdigi) Meutya Hafid spoke about the video uploaded by Amien Rais on his YouTube channel regarding the closeness between President Prabowo Subianto and Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya. Meutya called the video character assassination. “The Ministry of Communications and Digital (Komdigi) has identified the spread of a video containing slanderous narratives, character assassination, and personal attacks directed at the President of the Republic of Indonesia. The video was uploaded by the Chairman of the Shura Council of the Ummah Party,” said Meutya in an Instagram post @kemkomdigi on Saturday (2/5/2026). Meutya stated that Amien Rais’s statement contains hate speech. She assessed that his statement has the potential to divide the nation. “Komdigi affirms that the content of the video is a hoax, slander, and contains hate speech. The narrative built is an effort to demean the dignity of the country’s highest leadership, lacks factual basis, and is part of a provocation to create public unrest. This has the potential to divide the nation,” she said.”