Grace Natalie Believes Her Comments on JK Video Do Not Violate the Law
Secretary of the Board of Patrons of the Indonesian Solidarity Party, Grace Natalie, has stated that her comments criticising Jusuf Kalla’s remarks do not violate the law. According to Grace, she merely responded to a video of Jusuf Kalla’s sermon without altering or manipulating its substance in a way that could constitute a criminal offence.
Grace’s previous response was uploaded via a video on her Instagram account on 13 April 2026. “In that video of mine, I did not upload or repost Mr JK’s video. I also did not cut or edit it. So I was just responding to Mr JK’s video, which I saw had generated a lot of controversy circulating in society,” she said in Central Jakarta on Monday, 11 May 2026.
Grace believes that Jusuf Kalla’s statements are prone to misuse by certain groups to justify acts of violence. Therefore, she suggested that JK provide adequate clarification regarding the excerpt of his video from his sermon at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta.
“So I am optimistic there is no legal violation there. If it’s said to be editing, I see there are many narratives circulating that defame and so on, I think that’s not right,” Grace stated.
On that occasion, Grace emphasised that her public comments do not represent her position in the party led by Kaesang Pangarep. She repeatedly stated that the clarification she made is her personal matter after receiving many questions due to her being reported to the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency by the Alliance of Islamic Mass Organisations.
Grace claimed that she took the initiative to ask PSI not to get involved in handling the impacts of her actions, including providing legal assistance.
“Because this is my personal matter, it does not involve the party, therefore I also did not request legal assistance. If the party provides legal assistance as an institution, it would then be related to the institution,” she explained.
Grace admitted that she has no issues with Jusuf Kalla. To date, she has also not communicated with the former vice president because she believes there is nothing wrong with her comments. Nevertheless, she said she is prepared if she must meet with JK.
“My statement was also quite normal. Therefore, I am ready if asked for an explanation, for example, or if Mr JK wants to ask what the context is,” Grace said.
An alliance of several Islamic mass organisations reported social media activist Permadi Arya alias Abu Janda, as well as two politicians Ade Armando and Grace Natalie, to the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency. The report concerns allegations of incitement through electronic media, stemming from the polemic of former Vice President Jusuf Kalla’s sermon on 5 March 2026.
“We today represent around 40 Islamic mass organisations that we call the Alliance of Islamic Mass Organisations for Religious Harmony, coming to file a police report to report three people, namely Mr Ade Armando, Permadi Arya, and Grace Natalie,” said Director of LBH Hidayatullah, Syaefullah Hamid, in front of the Bareskrim Polri building in Jakarta on Monday, 4 May 2026.
Syaefullah said that they assess that the three individuals have framed JK through videos and podcasts they uploaded on social media. “Ade Armando who posted a video excerpt on Cokro TV on 9 April 2026. Then Permadi Arya who posted on his social media on 12 April 2026. Then Grace Natalie who posted on her social media on 13 April 2026. There are narratives built where there is an incomplete video presented to the public,” he said.