TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Bandung City Government Chief of Ideology and Civil Insights for the National and Political Unity Office Sony, has stated that the Sunda Empire group can be traced back to 2018.

"So, the Sunda Empire incident was in 2018. [The Sunda Empire] has been handled by the Military District Commander [Kodim]. So, this is just a reaction, due to what happened in Purworejo. This is the 2018 incident getting much attention, again," said Sony in Bandung on Friday, January 17, 2020.

According to Sony, the Sunda Empire is not listed as a civil organization in the National and Political Unity Office (Kesbangpol) registry. He went on to conclude the 'empire' to be an illegal civil organization.

Sony said that the Kesbangpol, along with the police force and the Indonesian National Military Armed Forces (TNI) will always watch out for illegal organizations such as the Sunda Empire.

"The police and military forces will surely monitor such [civil organization] movements continuously," Sony said.

Previously, a number of videos were uploaded on the internet with contents related to the "Sunda Empire". The videos circulated through social media on Thursday, January 16, 2020.

One of the videos that was spread, contained a number of individuals wearing uniforms and military attributes complete with berets and epaulets. One of the individuals orated about the governance of countries due to end in 2020.

Prior to the emerging of the Sunda Empire, the Agung Sejagat Keraton in Purworejo, Central Java, had garnered widespread attention. The Central Java Regional Police has apprehended the husband and wife claimed to be the founder of the Keraton and both of them were convicted for fraud.

ANTARA