Noted psychic Permadi undergoes accused of 'blasphemy'

Noted psychic Permadi undergoes accused of 'blasphemy'

JAKARTA (JP): The Attorney General's Office yesterday questioned noted mystic Permadi Satrio Wiwoho over allegations that he had insulted Islam.

Permadi, facing a sudden Moslem backlash including accusations of blasphemy, voluntarily turned himself in to the authorities on Sunday in a move that helped calm the outrage witnessed over the weekend.

"We're continuing our investigation of Permadi today," Gatot Hendrarto, head of the Attorney General's intelligence operations, said yesterday.

Gatot was speaking to a delegation from the Muhammadiyah Youth Organization who came to his office demanding that Permadi be prosecuted.

He told the delegation that the government had banned the sale of cassettes containing a recording of controversial remarks made by Permadi.

The delegation, led by the organization's chairman, M. Hajrianto, and including deputies Nadjamuddin Ramly and Syamsir Alam Lubis, presented a petition which called for a thorough investigation of Permadi and demanding that he be brought to account for his "blasphemous" remarks.

Permadi, already in hot water for tape-recorded comments regarded as critical of the government, suddenly became the target of Moslem outrage over the weekend after a scholar alleged that the soothsayer had called the Prophet Muhammad a dictator during a seminar in Yogyakarta in March last year.

Permadi has denied the accusations and said that his remarks have been manipulated and taken out of context.

Former home minister Rudini and human rights lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution, both of whom attended the seminar at Gadjah Mada University, came to Permadi's defense yesterday.

"There was not a single statement in the written paper prepared by Permadi that disparaged Prophet Muhammad," Rudini said in his office yesterday. He told reporters that he had kept a copy of Permadi's speech.

But the retired Army general was unable to completely rule out the alleged comment being made. "The statement might have been made during the question-and-answer session," he said, adding that he had left the seminar after the main speakers had read their papers.

Rudini said he was ready to help with the investigation of Permadi by the Attorney General's Office if he was needed.

Buyung, meanwhile, said Permadi had been misquoted.

He recalled Permadi's saying that power had been concentrated in the hands of Prophet Muhammad during his lifetime. "It was dictatorship, but it was a good dictatorship," he repeated Permadi's statement.

Nasution said the last statement was deliberately omitted by people who disliked Permadi.

The Armed Forces yesterday appealed to the public, especially the Moslem community, for calm and restraint.

"This case will be resolved by legal means," Armed Forces chief spokesman Maj. Gen. Syarwan Hamid said yesterday, responding to reports of growing unrest and protests in connection with the controversy.

Asked whether Permadi had apologized for his alleged slur against Islam, Syarwan replied that, even if he had, he would still have to face due legal process.

If the investigation found that a crime had been committed, he would have to be prosecuted, Syarwan said. "Let's just wait for the results of the investigation."

Meanwhile, the privately-owned television network TPI issued a statement yesterday announcing that it was imposing a total black ban on Permadi.

The network had been sharply criticized for airing Serambi, a talk show on religious issues starring Permadi as a guest co- host, on Thursday night; when the mystic had already become the subject of government investigation.

TPI Operations General Manager Mrs. Syamsuddin Ch. Haesy said the station would not air pre-recorded Serambi programs which featured Permadi.

She stressed that the soothsayer did not host the show but had merely appeared as a guest. The program is managed and hosted by Anton Indracaya, she added.

The TPI statement condemned Permadi for insulting Islam. (imn/emb)