Roy Suryo Suspect Of Blasphemy: As Former Minister, Should Be Wise In Social Media

Roy Suryo's tweet on his twitter account is considered to have insulted Buddhism. (Twitter/@KRMTRoySuryo2)

JAKARTA - Hundreds of Buddha statues in Borobudur Temple are not just works of art, but symbols in Buddhism which are spiritual expressions. In Buddhism, Buddha statues are deliberately made as a tribute to commemorate his services and greatness of mind, especially the teachings that make millions of people live in peace and tranquility.

So it is natural that any act or expression of degrading, damaging, insulting, or manipulating a Buddha statue is considered an insult to religion. This is because Buddhism is still one of the five recognized religions in Indonesia.

It is also natural that many people, especially Buddhists, blaspheme Roy Suryo who includes a meme image of a Buddha statue that looks like President Jokowi in a post on his Twitter account on June 10, 2022.

At that time, Roy Suryo criticized the government's policy of increasing ticket prices for Borobudur Temple.

"During the weekend, the tweets are light. In line with the protest of the planned increase in ticket prices to go up to Borobudur Temple (from 50 thousand) to 750 thousand which has been (properly) DELAYED, a lot of netizens' creativity has changed one of the iconic open stupas in Borobudur, FUNNY , he-3x AMBYAR," wrote Roy Suryo, Friday (10/6/2022).

Former Minister of Youth and Sports, Roy Suryo, is now a suspect in cases of hate speech and blasphemy because he uploaded a meme of a Buddha statue that looks like President Jokowi. (Youtube screenshot)

In his tweet, the former Menpora under President SBY also included two meme images of a Buddha statue that looks like President Jokowi. The image on the left reads "No wonder the tickets are expensive, it turns out that Opung has made a statue of 'I Gede Utange Jokowi' for additional funds to build IKN"

While the picture on the right reads "The Borobudur temple stupa has a new god statue".

Two representatives of Buddhists named Kurniawan Santoso and Kevin Wu, General Chairperson of DPP Dharmapala Nusantara even reported Roy Suryo to the police separately on the same day, June 20, 2022.

Roy Suryo is charged with Article 28 Paragraph (2) in conjunction with Article 45A of Law (UU) Number 19 of 2016 concerning Amendments to Law Number 11 of 2008 concerning Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE).

"Then Article 156A of the Criminal Code (KUHP). His client reported Roy Suryo because Roy participated in spreading images that allegedly contained hate speech against individuals or groups based on ethnicity, religion, race, and intergroup (SARA)," said Herna Sutan , Kurniawan's attorney told reporters at the Metro Jaya Police Headquarters, June 20, 2022.

Herna hopes that the investigation of the report will go hand in hand with the previous report submitted by Roy Suryo. "What we report is not for personal interests, but this is in the interests of the people," said Herna.

Previously Reported to Police

Roy Suryo had indeed made a police report regarding the meme of a Buddha statue that looks like President Jokowi four days earlier. Because, many netizens think as if he made or edited the meme image of the Buddha statue. In fact, according to Roy, the image was already circulating on social media.

"I did not change this image, the image is the same, the account also exists," said Roy Suryo on June 16, 2022, quoted from Kompas.com.

To avoid leading unhealthy opinions, Roy admitted that he had deleted his post two days before making the report.

"Because I saw that there was a provocation that I thought was unhealthy, I took it down on my own initiative on June 14, 2022. After that it started getting crowded," Roy continued.

Roy Suryo on his way to the detention house after undergoing an examination at the Ditreskrimum Polda Metro Jaya on Friday 5 August 2022. (Antara/Indrianto Eko Suwarso)

Apparently, the blasphemy continued to flow. On that basis, Roy deliberately reported three social media accounts that were suspected to be the first uploaders of the meme to social media. He has also disclosed the identity and personal data of the people behind the account to investigators when examined as a reporter.

"Because he (Roy Suryo) feels that he is also a victim of the account, and his opinion is being led in that direction, we will report it," added Pitra Romadoni, the lawyer for the former Menpora.

Roy Suryo also apologized, "Once again to all Buddhists, I admit that when it happened I did regret it too. Because this has hurt Indonesian people, especially Buddhists."

Determination of the suspect

Unfortunately, Roy Suryo's report did not receive a follow-up response from law enforcement officials because it was deemed not to meet the criminal element. In fact, Roy Suryo's post on the @KRMTRoySuryo2 twitter account is considered to meet the criminal element.

Because, the post ended up going viral and Roy Suryo was considered to have played a role in spreading hate speech and blasphemy.

“The one who fulfills the criminal element is Roy Suryo's brother as the reported party. That's why this is being investigated," said the Head of Public Relations of the Polda Metro Jaya, Kombes E. Zulpan, as reported by VOI, on Friday, July 22, 2022.

So that Roy Suryo's report on the three social media accounts automatically fell for the sake of the law. This determination after going through a series of inspection processes repeatedly.

"On July 20, 2022, the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) has issued a recommendation for protection to me as a reporting witness, but it turns out that my status has been increased to become a suspect," said Roy Suryo in a press statement, Thursday (4/8).

Confused Law Practitioners

However, according to Legal Practitioner Masykur Isnan, even though he has been named a suspect, Roy Suryo's report on three social media accounts on July 16, 2022 should continue. Determination of the suspect does not immediately make the report that was previously made invalid.

Because, these two things, Roy Suryo as both the reported and the reporter are interrelated. On the other hand, Roy Suryo also still has the right to pretrial.

“Investigators should not rush to identify Roy Suryo as a suspect. How was the involvement, how was the contribution of the accounts reported by Roy Suryo that allegedly had a hand. It must be more comprehensive," he told VOI, Tuesday (9/8).

In line with the Criminal Law Expert from Trisakti University, Abdul Fickar Hadjar. He also considered that the first report should be processed first. Namely, Roy Suryo's report on three social media accounts that allegedly uploaded the first meme of a Buddha statue that looks like President Jokowi.

A criminal law expert from Trisakti University, Abdul Fickar Hadjar, assessed that the police were too selective in naming Roy Suryo as a suspect. (Between)

After the investigation of the first report was declared as a violation of the law, then the complaint was processed against Roy Suryo. In this context, said Fickar, Roy Suryo could be considered as someone who participated in spreading law violations.

Because, in the initial post that became evidence, Roy Suryo did not change the image and also included the source of the meme image.

"Those who have done it haven't been processed, haven't been declared as an act that violates the law, but those who have spread it have been processed, that's funny. His way of thinking is jumpy, illogical. Roy Suryo is arguably the second person. The first one should have been processed first, or at least at the same time as the second one," he told VOI, Tuesday (9/8).

As a result, in this case, the police are impressed with favoritism. “The police should be fair, reports from anyone, including suspects, even those who have been suspected, must be responded to. This means that law enforcement will make the problem clear, don't be so picky," he said.