Golkar official pushes for prosecution of soothsayer

Golkar official pushes for prosecution of soothsayer

JAKARTA (JP): A Golkar official visited the Attorney General's
Office yesterday to push the ruling political group's campaign to
prosecute soothsayer Permadi Satrio Wiwoho for slander.

Agung Laksono, deputy chairman of Golkar's central executive
board, met with deputy attorney general Mohammad Hasan to discuss
the plan to prosecute the mystic for comparing Golkar to the
outlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

"We found that parts of his address at a Gadjah Mada
University seminar on April 20 last year were clearly disparaging
the reputation of Golkar. They were also slanderous and not based
on facts," Agung reported.

In his speech, Agung said, Permadi essentially accused Golkar
of "being worse" than the PKI. "Such a statement clearly offended
Golkar and we could not let him get away with that.

"Golkar was at the front line in crushing the communist forces
in Indonesia. But now we have this accusation."

PKI, one of the largest political parties in Indonesia in the
early 1960s, was accused of masterminding the coup attempt
against then President Sukarno in September 1965. The party was
outlawed the following year.

Golkar formally filed a complaint with the police accusing
Permadi of slander on March 25.

Permadi, who has been in police custody since March, is also
facing charges of blaspheming Islam during the same seminar at
Gadjah Mada university last year.

Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher has also announced
his intention to sue the soothsayer for accusing his ministry of
embezzling haj pilgrimage funds.

Permadi has denied the allegations of blasphemy, saying that
his remarks were taken out of context and manipulated by his
critics. He has not, however, denied the accusations levied by
Golkar and Tarmizi.

"We hope the Attorney General's Office will be able to take
our case to court," Agung said, pointing out that he had been
asked by Golkar chairman Harmoko to pursue the matter.

Golkar's determination is also expected to encourage other
members of the public to resolve their problems through legal
channels instead of taking the law into their own hands, he said.

There were a series of street demonstrations calling for
Permadi's head in March following the disclosure of his remarks.
The protests subsided after the authorities promised to
investigate.

Agung came to the Attorney General's Office accompanied by
lawyers from LPPH, a legal aid institute affiliated with the
political organization. The lawyers were Farida Kadariyah, Martin
Hutabarat, Taufik Hidayat and Sofyan Sukri.

"We hope the investigation will begin soon," Agung said,
adding that to support the case, Golkar will present a cassette
recording of the seminar, a transcript of the seminar and
clippings from Gatra newsweekly which quote some of Permadi's
remarks. (emb)