Having Undergone Traditional Adat Hearing, What is the Fate of Pandji Pragiwaksono's Legal Case Regarding the Toraja Funeral Joke?
Jakarta, VIVA – The legal process against comedian Pandji Pragiwaksono has not yet reached a conclusion. Although he has undergone an adat hearing in Toraja, investigators are still considering further steps in the case alleging defamation with ethnic and religious undertones against Toraja funeral customs.
The Cybercrime Directorate of the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Unit affirmed that the adat hearing Pandji underwent will be one of the considerations in the case review. The Director of the Cybercrime Directorate of the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Unit, Brigadier General of Police Himawan Bayu Aji, said that this approach is in line with the application of ‘living law’ or the law that exists within the community.
“Yes, all of these steps are concrete steps in accordance with ‘living law.’ Then, with the existence of national law, this is what we are doing in parallel with the investigation,” he said on Thursday, February 26, 2026.
This means that the adat process does not automatically halt the investigation. The police will still investigate the criminal elements before deciding whether the case can be elevated to the suspect designation stage.
“So, we will see what the outcome is after further examinations following his participation in the adat hearing in Toraja. Yes, we will first assess what elements might be included, and then we will conclude in the case review,” he said.
In fact, investigators are not ruling out the possibility of examining Toraja traditional leaders involved in the hearing if needed.
“If it is needed in the investigation, we will conduct examinations on several parties who are needed in the investigation process,” he said.
Although this case of alleged defamation against the Toraja traditional funeral procession has reached the investigation stage, Pandji’s status is still as a witness.
“For now, he is still a witness. Yes, he will be (examined) after the adat hearing. There is a possibility that he will be examined again,” he added.
For information, comedian Pandji Pragiwaksono was caught in a polemic after allegedly making offensive remarks about Toraja culture and traditions through his jokes on one of the YouTube channels.
The joke has now resulted in a police report filed by the Toraja Youth Alliance to the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Unit on allegations of defamation and hate speech with ethnic and religious undertones. The report was registered with number 01/LP/APT/XI/2025 on Monday, November 3, 2025.