Palace Denies Accusations That Paspampres Member Hit a Young Man for Taking Picture with Jokowi

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Deputy for Press and Media Protocol at the Presidential Secretariat, Yusuf Permana, denied the allegation that a young man was getting punched by a presidential security forces (Paspampres) member when he was taking a picture with President Joko Widodo or Jokowi.

"We have spoken with Paspampres and there was no such beating,” Yusuf said in a written statement on Tuesday, September 10, 2024.

Yusuf said Jokowi mandated Paspampres to stay vigilant during their duty while acting humanely.

Yusuf also explained that the President is guarded by several security elements, not solely by Paspampres. “Paspampres guards in the first Ring, and the second and third Rings comprise of the military and National Police,” Yusuf said. 

Even so, Yusuf claimed the Palace would re-check the regional security team that was tasked with guarding President Jokowi at the time of the incident. 

"We apologize to the public for the incident and express our gratitude. We greatly appreciate the enthusiasm of those hoping to welcome the President," he said.

Meanwhile, a video of an alleged young man being beaten by a member of the Paspampres went viral on social media. User @yaniarsim on social media platform X uploaded the video on Monday, September 9.

"Got a shirt from Mulyono (refers to President Jokowi) plus got punched in the stomach by the Paspampres. Sunday 8/9/2024 East Kalimantan. Hadeuhh," the caption read, as quoted by Tempo, Tuesday, September 10.

In the 1 minute 29 second video, a young man is seen approaching President Jokowi at his car door. He took a photo with the President while saying cheerfully, "My prayers have been answered!"

However, not long after, a member of the Paspampres approached him and urged the young man to step away. "Hey, don't do that!" said the president’s security personnel.

The young man apologized, but was answered by a punch. "I was hit, I was punched by a Paspampres member just because I took a photo with the President," the young man remarked. 

ANDI ADAM FATURAHMAN | DANIEL A. FAJRI

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