PSI Will Not Provide Legal Aid to Grace Natalie, JK's Spokesperson Rejects Ade Armando

The Secretary of the PSI Board of Patrons, Grace Natalie, will not receive assistance from her party regarding the legal proceedings she faces in the alleged incitement and hate speech case related to a video of Jusuf Kalla. The Acting Chairman of the PSI Central Executive Board, Ahmad Ali, stated that the party will not interfere in Grace’s case. According to him, Grace’s statements on her social media account are purely personal matters. “So institutionally, we assure that we will not provide legal assistance on behalf of the party because these are things that must be accounted for personally,” Ali said at the PSI Central Executive Board office on Tuesday (5/5). Grace, along with Ade Armando and Permadi Arya, was reported to the National Police Criminal Investigation Agency on Monday (4/5) for alleged hate speech and incitement by at least 40 Islamic mass organisations united under the Alliance for Religious Harmony. The report concerns the controversy surrounding the narrative in their respective posts about an excerpt from a speech by the 10th and 12th Vice President, Jusuf Kalla (JK), at the UGM Mosque. JK’s speech at the time explained the conflicts in Poso and Ambon as reflections or lessons regarding the importance of maintaining religious harmony. The report was accepted and registered under number LP/B/185/V/2026/SPKT/Bareskrim Polri dated 4 May 2026. As of now, Grace has not responded to the report against her, including the party’s decision not to provide legal assistance. JK’s spokesperson rejects meeting Unlike Grace, Ade has recently announced his resignation from PSI. He believes the report has implicated PSI too deeply and could hinder the party’s movements ahead of the 2029 elections. “I request permission, namely through this press conference, I state that I am resigning from PSI, yes,” said Ade Armando. Personally, Ade claims that his legal cases are not new. However, this attack on PSI can no longer be tolerated. Even, the case is said to directly involve the seventh President, Joko Widodo. Ade has also denied editing the video of Jusuf Kalla’s speech on the Poso and Ambon conflicts. “I did not cut, I did not edit, I only discussed what was circulating at that time. And what was circulating then was also not the result of editing. It was just that part was cut. A fraction, maybe around 2-3 minutes, that we commented on,” Ade said in a podcast. He also stated that he would not object to being brought face-to-face with JK to discuss the case, including apologising to the Muslim and Christian communities over the blasphemy allegations. “If I am brought face-to-face with Mr JK, I would too. Or I have to apologise to the Muslim community, for example, or the Christian community, I am willing but I will say I never incited division, I never insulted religion. But it keeps being repeated,” he said. JK, through his spokesperson, Husain Abdullah, refused to answer the possibility of JK meeting Ade Armando. He only asked all parties to follow the ongoing legal process. “Because the legal process is ongoing, so let’s just follow it,” Husain said when contacted on Wednesday (6/5).