Abu Janda Admits He Insulted Natalius Pigai’s Way Of Thinking. Will He Be A Suspect?

Permadi Arya or Abu Janda (Photo: Twitter @ permadiaktivis1)

JAKARTA - Social media activist Permadi Arya or Abu Janda underwent an initial investigation regarding alleged hate speech against Natalius Pigai.

He acknowledged his statement on his Twitter account @permadiaktivis1, which uses evolutionary diction to insult Pigai's way of thinking, not his physique.

"Yes, if you say I insulted his way of thinking, that's right (insulting)", said Abu Janda at the Police Criminal Investigation Unit, Thursday, February 4.

Abu Janda's statement was made because Pigai mocked General (ret) AM Hendropriyono in the first place.

"It was solely because of Pigai's tweet questioning the general's capacity, I replied back, 'What's your capacity? Is it finished yet? Is your way of thinking finished yet?'", He said.

Abu Janda argued that Pigai had insulted Hendropriyono with inappropriate diction. In fact, according to him, Pigai is no better than Hendropriyono.

"He (Pigai) insulted very viciously and even did body shaming he said 'what is your capacity, old man?' He said so", said Abu Janda.

But Abu Janda did not explain whether or not he had conveyed this confession to investigators. He explained this after undergoing an examination.

Abu Janda emphasized that what he explained to investigators about the word evolution was only to defend Hendropriyono.

"So I have explained to the police that what was not included in the viral one was that my tweet originated from Natalius Pigai's tweet insulting a general who is already a senior retired officer who has greatly contributed for this country", he said.

"So that is when I tweeted in the context that I was defending the general (Hendropriyono), explaining the general's capacity. So, when I used the word evolution, before the word evolution, there was the word capacity, so in the context of asking Natalius Pigai", he continued.

After being examined, Abu Janda was allowed to go home after undergoing an examination for 4 hours. Meanwhile, regarding the follow-up examination, there was no clear information.

Apart from the examination process, Abu Janda said that he wanted to meet Natalius Pigai. The desire for a meeting is likely to find a solution for the problem.

"Indeed, I have not contacted him, I may also want to (meet Pigai)", said Abu Janda.

Since the case emerged, there has been no communication between the two. In the near future, Abu Janda wants to communicate with Pigai.

"Maybe there is a desire, maybe. But we will see if he wants to (or not)", he said.

This case started when Abu Janda wrote in his tweet the word 'evolution' which was considered an insult to Pigai. So, it was reported by the Head of Legal Affairs of the Indonesian Youth National Committee, Medya Rischa Lubis.

"The word 'evolution' is the bottom line for us to report the @permadiaktivis1 account for allegedly spreading hate speech", said Medya.

This tweet was uploaded to the @permadiaktivis1 account on January 2. At that time, Abu Janda commented on the debate between Pigai and Hendropriyono.

"The capacity of Gen. Hendropriyono: Former Head of State Intelligence Agency, Former Director of Strategic Intelligence Agency, Former Minister of Transmigration, Professor of Intelligence Philosophy, Served in various military operations. You Natalius Pigai, what is your capacity? Have you finished your evolution yet?" wrote Abu Janda.

In this case, Abu Janda was reported under Article 45 paragraph (3) Jo article 27 paragraph (3) and/or article 45 A paragraph (2) Jo article 25 paragraph (2) and/or Law number 19 of 2016 concerning Amendments On Law Number 11 of 2006 concerning Electronic Information and Transactions, Hatred or Enmity for Individuals and/or Intergroups (SARA), Article 310 and/or Article 311 of the Criminal Code.