Jokowi Mania: Free Speech Doesn`t Mean Free to Throw Insults
28 November 2018 20:38 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Jakarta Jokowi Mania Group is reportedly to have proof that the Islamic preacher Muhammad Bahar bin Smith had blatantly mocked a state symbol after the preacher made fun of President Joko `Jokowi` Widodo.
“[His actions] were way above his capacity as a preacher,” said Jakarta Jokowi Mania Chairman Rahmat at the Jakarta Metro Police headquarters today, Nov. 28.
The preacher in question, Bahar bin Smith, was recorded insulting the president during a sermon he delivered during the Maulid Nabi commemoration in Batuceper, Tangerang, on November 17.
The footage of the insults was recorded in a 60-second video where Bahar inticed the audience to “undo president Jokowi’s pants to confirm whether the president is having his period,” mockingly saying that the president was a shemale.
“However, we are free to express our opinion, but this does not mean that we are free to throw insults,” Rahmat maintained. Bahar bin Smith was reported to the police under a law that oversees insults made to a state symbol or president Jokowi.
RYAN DWIKY ANGGRIAWAN
