The Permadi case

The Permadi case

In connection with Mr. Dan Adams' letter (The Jakarta Post,
Aug. 28, 1995), I am pleased to send you a copy of Mr. Permadi's
talk, given during the "Panel Forum on the Indonesian
Presidency," held on April 27 and April 28, 1994 at the Gajah
Mada University campus.

I was also invited to be one of the speakers and my paper
touched on the proposed Presidency Act. My turn was on April 27,
the day before Mr. Permadi delivered his speech.

It was very unfortunate indeed that, during the question and
answer session, a student (who was actually preparing his thesis
on the Indonesian Presidency) raised the problem of
"dictatorship", which is not mentioned in Permadi's paper.

First of all, it is useful to understand the meaning of the
word "dictator". According to Webster's New World Dictionary
(College Edition), it has four meanings:

1. in ancient Rome, a magistrate with supreme authority,
appointed in times of emergency;

2. a ruler with absolute power and authority;

3. a person whose word must be obeyed;

4. a person who speaks aloud words for someone else to write
down.

The second and the third meanings are relevant in the Permadi
case.

Cindy Adams wrote a book titled My Friend (i.e. President
Sukarno), the Dictator. Edward Corwin, in his book entitled The
President, Office and Powers, mentioned President Lincoln as a
dictator, and Mohammad Hatta (the late vice president), in his
book Sekitar Proklamasi (Around the Proclamation), called
President Sukarno a dictator. Neither of the three authors were
summoned to court.

I think the reason is because the author did not have a so-
called animus injuriandi (intention to insult) toward the
President. Whether or not Mr. Permadi does have the intention to
insult the Holy Prophet Muhammad (God's blessings and peace be
upon him), it is up to the three judges who are handling the case
at the Sleman District Court in Yogyakarta to decide.

It is interesting to note that when Mr. Permadi's wife visited
me recently, she told me that her husband had actually planned to
go to Mecca to perform umroh (the lesser pilgrimage). I hope he
will have the opportunity to carry out his plan after he is out
of jail.

In any case, I agree with Mr. Dan Adams' remark that "if
Permadi said something so terrible, as to sow seeds of hatred,
why did it take a whole year before those seeds ever broke the
surface".

It should be noted that the majority of the audience were
Moslems and that Permadi's speech was not given in Hyde Park.

HARUN ALRASID

Jakarta