PSI Hits Back at PDIP's Deddy Over Jokowi's Buffalo Head Ritual: It Wasn't a Bull's Head

The Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) has expressed bewilderment over PDIP politician Deddy Sitorus’s comments regarding a traditional ceremony involving former President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) stepping on a buffalo head during a political visit to Lampung. PSI’s Central Executive Board Chairman, Bestari Barus, clarified that the ritual involved a buffalo, not a bull, which is the symbol of the PDIP. “I, as a PSI spokesperson, am simply recounting what happened in the cultural procession. I don’t understand why Deddy Sitorus, a PDIP member of the House of Representatives, is so angry about a ceremony conducted by the indigenous people of Lampung. It was a buffalo head, not a bull’s head,” Bestari told reporters on Friday. He described Deddy’s statement as childish and questioned how a member of parliament could not distinguish between a buffalo and a bull. Bestari also explained that Jokowi attended the event as an invited guest, not as the organising committee chair. He suggested that each political party has its own customs, implying that in PDIP, Megawati Soekarnoputri might typically chair events, but that was not the case in Lampung. Deddy Sitorus had previously stated it was illogical for Jokowi to claim ignorance of the ritual. He alleged that Jokowi was the chairman of the event’s organising committee and accused the former president of orchestrating the ceremony to keep his name in the public eye and maintain his family’s political dynasty.