TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - An action conducted by the Surakarta (Solo) virtual police unit that had reportedly nabbed a local resident living in Slawi, identified as A.M, was met with hard criticism after police nabbed the person due to an alleged hoax comment he made in an online forum against Solo Mayor and son of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, Gibran Rakabuming Raka.

On Instagram A.M. commented at a content posted by @garudarevolution containing information about Gibran asking the semifinals and finals of the Menpora Cup to be held in Solo.

A.M. commented the post with his personal account on Saturday, March 13, which reads “What does he know about football, [he] only knows about being inherited a position.”

Many believe this comment had not directly slanted any specific person and deemed police’s actions to be exaggerated.

Responding to the online uproar against police’s actions, Solo Police Chief Grand Commissioner Ade Safri said the comment that A.M. had made was considered to be a hoax as his statement proclaiming Grbran had been given a position by his father who is the President of Indonesia was not true. He believes the truth is that Gibran was elected as a Mayor through a fair Solo election in 2020.

The Police chief said the person was only summoned by virtual police for further clarification and that A.M. admitted that his rather unspecific comment was aimed at Gibran Rakabuming. Police then ordered the person to erase the comment and issue a public apology for Gibran and the people of Solo before releasing him.

Read: Indonesian Police Monitor Hate Speech on WhatsApp Groups

DEWI NURITA