JK Finally Speaks Out After Being Reported to Police for Alleged Religious Blasphemy
Former Vice Presidents of Indonesia, Jusuf Kalla (JK), has finally spoken out regarding allegations of religious blasphemy levelled against him by various groups concerning a lecture at UGM Mosque on 5 March 2026.
According to JK, those who reported him for blasphemy or religious harassment are relying solely on video clips accompanied by inaccurate narratives related to his lecture, which reviewed the Poso and Ambon conflicts. He described the individuals who created the narratives and filed the police report as defaming him.
To journalists gathered at his home in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, on Saturday (18/4), JK also showed recordings of clips from the Poso and Ambon conflicts.
“This is the atmosphere, which was not covered by the media [not reported by mass media] and was even more brutal. Even worse,” said JK.
“Those who are defaming me, have they ever been there [in the midst of the Poso and Ambon conflicts]? I was there. Hamid [former Minister of Law and Human Rights Hamid Awaluddin] was there, Uceng [JK’s spokesperson Husain Abdullah] as a journalist at the time went to see it,” he added in a firm tone.
Hamid and Husain accompanied JK during the press conference.
According to JK, the conflict situations in Poso (Central Sulawesi) and Ambon (Maluku) in the late 1990s and early 2000s were more brutal than the G30S/PKI incident. The conflicts, which began between residents in each area, later developed into ones with religious overtones, or SARA (ethnicity, religion, race, and inter-group relations).
“We three entered there [conflict areas like Poso and Ambon] to calm things down. Does Ade Armando dare to go there? Does Ade Darmawan dare?” he added.
CNNIndonesia.com has not yet received official statements from the parties mentioned by JK regarding Poso and Ambon.
Previously, the Executive Board of the Indonesian Christian Youth Movement (GAMKI) along with several organisations reported JK to the police.
GAMKI General Chairman Sahat Sinurat stated that JK’s remarks were deemed to offend Christian teachings and caused a stir in the lecture at UGM Mosque discussing the Poso and Ambon conflicts. He emphasised that Christian teachings never justify killing as a path to heaven.
Additionally, on 14 April, a similar report emerged from North Sumatra. Several organisations under the North Sumatra Civil Society Alliance also reported JK to the North Sumatra Police Headquarters with allegations of blaspheming religious teachings.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai encouraged resolving the polemic through dialogue, not legal channels.
“As Human Rights Minister, I do not agree with the police report against Mr JK. I firmly reject it. To be honest, there is no benefit to it either,” said Pigai, as quoted by Antara on Wednesday (15/4).
Meanwhile, the National Anti-Provocateur Presidium will report those who spread clips of JK’s lecture video with allegedly defamatory narratives related to Poso and Ambon.
“Of course, regarding the content of the discussion earlier that started spreading it. Spreading the issues, we will report it as soon as possible,” said the National Anti-Provocateur Presidium’s Advocate Team, Emil Harris, to journalists on Friday (17/4).
Emil explained that the report concerns the dissemination of JK’s lecture video delivered at UGM campus. The video was deliberately edited and spread to make it seem as if there was a legal violation in the lecture.
“Of course, what has been circulating is the video. So we take from there, the one who started this thing,” he stated.
A presidium member, Muchtar Daeng Lau, condemned the party that posted the JK video clip with negative narration during the UGM lecture.
“We strongly condemn the first person to post the video of Mr JK during the UGM lecture, thus causing polemic and prolonged discomfort,” said Muchtar.
The National Anti-Provocateur Presidium expressed support and appreciation to JK for his contributions and experience in maintaining national unity, including resolving social-religious conflicts both nationally and internationally.
“We urge restraint and avoiding one-sided framing so that the entire society and national elements are not provoked. Instead, prioritise objective attitudes and understand the context fully to avoid potential misunderstandings among religious communities,” he stated.
The Poso conflict in Central Sulawesi occurred around 1998-2001. The communal riots are often seen as conflicts with religious nuances. However, the root causes are said to be related to economic disparities, local political competition, and the impact of transmigration programmes that changed the region’s demographics.
In 2001, JK, who was then Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare in President Megawati Soekarnoputri’s cabinet, led the mediation process in Malino, South Sulawesi. As a Sulawesi figure, JK then succeeded in pushing for the Malino I Declaration after gathering conflicting Islamic and Christian figures to agree on peace.
Meanwhile, the Ambon conflict was a communal riot that began from individual disputes and quickly escalated into a religious-tinged storm in Maluku province around 1999 to 2002.
JK, who was then Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare, gathered Islamic and Christian figures from Ambon for mediation in Malino. The result was a peace agreement or Malino II Declaration on 12 February 2002.
In response to the buzz around JK’s lecture, the UGM Campus Mosque YouTube channel admin conveyed a message through a pinned comment starting Monday (12/4).
“Dear congregation, we earnestly request that you watch the video in full, not just the circulating clips. Often, incomplete excerpts can cause misunderstandings because the context of the discussion is not conveyed properly,” the admin wrote in the comment section.
CNNIndonesia.com obtained permission from the UGM Mosque Takmir Chairman, Muhammad Yusuf, to quote the content of that comment.
“Let us be fair in assessing something, by looking at it comprehensively before