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Tag: Ahok

  • Marvel To Discipline Indonesian Marvel-Gold Artist For Hidden Political, Religious Reference

    Marvel To Discipline Indonesian Marvel-Gold Artist For Hidden Political, Religious Reference

    Marvel Comics is planning to take disciplinary action against an Indonesian artist who sneaked several controversial references into his artwork for the first issue of X-Men Gold, according to reports citing a statement by the comics giant.

    X-Men Gold #1, which was published on Wednesday (Apr 5), was illustrated by Indonesian artist Ardian Syaf.

    His artwork allegedly contained several hidden religious references and sparked an outcry by comic book fans on social media.

    In one scene, Jewish mutant Kitty Pryde is seen standing in front of a crowd of humans. Her head is adjacent to a sign saying “Jewelry”, which some took to be a reference to her heritage.

    In the same panel, there is a building with the numbers “212” on it – a reference to a mass rally by Indonesian Muslims on Dec 2 last year against Jakarta’s Christian Chinese governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama. Ahok is on trial for blasphemy over accusations that he insulted the Islamic holy book, the Quran.

    Another scene in the issue shows Colossus wearing a t-shirt with “QS 5:51” on it, a reference to a verse in the Quran used by some in Indonesia to support their view that non-Muslims should not lead the government.

    Ardian shared artwork for the issue on his Facebook page on Thursday, in a post that has since been taken down. By Sunday evening, the post had drawn almost 200 comments.

    Many criticised him for the alleged political messages. “The X-Men message at its core is integration, not division,” Facebook user Zauri Severino Junior wrote.

    “It’s shameful to see (an) Indonesian artist make a fool of himself worldwide just because of his impaired religious views and racism,” another commenter, Nuri Agustiani Setiawan, wrote.

    In a statement published by ComicBook on Saturday, Marvel said the artwork “was inserted without knowledge behind its reported meanings”.

    “These implied references do not reflect the views of the writer, editors or anyone else at Marvel and are in direct opposition of the inclusiveness of Marvel Comics and what the X-Men have stood for since their creation,” the statement said.

    Marvel added that disciplinary action would be taken against Syaf, but did not give further details.

    It added that the artwork would be removed from subsequent printings, digital versions, and trade paperbacks.

    In a Facebook post on Tuesday (Apr 11), Syaf said his career was “over now”.

    He added: “It’s the consequence (of) what I did, and I take it. Please no more mockery, debate, no more hate. I hope all in peace.”

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Ahok Supporters Finding New Strength

    Ahok Supporters Finding New Strength

    As prosecutors read out their statement that rejected Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama’s refutation, hundreds of supporters of the blasphemy defendant staged a demonstration outside the North Jakarta District Court on Tuesday, asking the judges to release the beleaguered incumbent Jakarta gubernatorial candidate.

    It was the first time since his allegedly blasphemous remarks started to trouble him two months ago that a large number of demonstrators openly voiced support for the capital’s first Chinese-Indonesian
    governor.

    Wearing the iconic blue and red plaid shirts, the protesters carried signs that read, “We are Muslims who forgive Ahok” and “Release Ahok”.

    “I’ll tell you what Ahok has done to Islam. He sent mosque keepers to go on the umrah and built mosques. He is not an enemy of Islam,” a man in a white cap said through a loudspeaker to supporters who responded with a thunderous applause.

    The scene at the old Central Jakarta District Court building on Jl. Gajah Mada stood in contrast to Ahok’s first trial hearing a week before. At that time, no Ahok supporters were present. Instead, hundreds of protesters swarmed the street to demand that Ahok be jailed immediately.

    At least three large rallies with similar demands were staged in Jakarta, as well as in other cities, shaking the country’s political stability.

    With the “anti-Ahok” protestors also present on Tuesday, the two groups were separated by dozens of police officers and a police Barracuda vehicle.

    “We were trying to display support for Ahok and send a message to the judges and other people that there are Muslims who support tolerance and a fair trial,” Yayong Waryono of the Bara-Badja (Volunteer Front for Basuki and Djarot) told The Jakarta Post. The abbreviation refers to Ahok and his running mate Djarot Saiful Hidayat.

    Yayong said they decided to stage a rally because they were concerned with the hundreds of anti-Ahok protestors “trying to put pressure on the panel of judges”.

    A recent survey carried out by Jakarta-based pollster Poltracking Indonesia found that most Ahok supporters in Jakarta were from the middle class group, which seemed to make up most of the
    demonstrators.

    Inside the court building, prosecutors asked the judges to ignore the refutation statement emotionally presented by Ahok last week.

    Lead prosecutor Mukartono said the refutation by Ahok and his legal team was baseless and urged the judges, presided over by Dwiarso Budi Santiarto, to proceed with the trial.

    In his refutation, Ahok said as evidence of his great respect for Islam, he had funded many mosque keepers to go on the umrah, therefore leaving him with no reason to commit blasphemy against the religion.

    But Mukartono brushed off the claim.

    “The source of the funds was from the Jakarta regional budget and it was normal for a regional leader to do such a thing,” he said.

    Prosecutors also questioned a claim conveyed by Ahok’s legal team in the previous hearing that it was a “trial by mob”.

    Prosecutors claimed that despite the blasphemy allegation that stirred public controversy, it was the crime that brought Ahok to court, not the public pressure.

    “The legal process had been made under the proper procedures and none of it was affected by public pressure,” Mukartono said.

    The trial has been adjourned until Dec. 27, when the panel of judges are scheduled to issue an interim decision on whether to accept the refutation statement and terminate the trial, in which Ahok would be cleared of the blasphemy charge.

    Ahok has been indicted on Article 156 section (a) of the Criminal Code (KUHP) on blasphemy, which carries a maximum of five years’ imprisonment, for his controversial remarks that included a reference to a Quranic verse when he made a visit to Thousand Islands regency in September.

    The Jakarta Police said they deployed 2,986 officers to secure the area surrounding the court building.

    The police have repeatedly voiced concerns over possible security issues during the trial hearings and asked the Supreme Court to consider relocating the trial as the current venue is located in the heart of Jakarta where many government institutions and major businesses operate.

     

    Source: The Jakarta Post

  • Ahok Sheds Tears, Saying He Never Intended To Insult Quran

    Ahok Sheds Tears, Saying He Never Intended To Insult Quran

    Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama could not hold back his tears when he read out his exception before a judge panel during his first blasphemy trial at the North Jakarta District Court on Tuesday.

    The non-active governor told the judges he had never intended to insult the Quran in his remarks during his working visit to Thousand Islands on Sept. 27.

    “I did not intend to misinterpret Surah Al Maidah 51 nor commit blasphemy nor insult ulemas. In my statement, [in Thousand Islands] I referred to certain politicians who had misused Surah Al Maidah 51 to avoid fair competition prior to upcoming regional elections,” Ahok told the judges.

    Citing his book entitled Finding Protection Behind Holy Verses, Ahok said he had been learning Surah Al Maidah 51 since the beginning of his career in politics as a local leader in East Belitung.

    He said many politicians had used the Quranic verse to influence voters not to choose a non-Muslim as a politician, encouraging them not to make ‘infidels’ into leaders.

    “When I asked my [Muslim] friends, they told me that the verse was given when there were Muslims who wanted to kill Prophet Muhammad by conspiring with Christians and Jews,” Ahok said, in his first trial, which heard the reading of his indictments..

    “It is clear that the verse was not intended for the appointment of a head of an administration, especially in Indonesia, in which the head of an administration does not serve as a religious leader.”

    Reading out the indictments, lead prosecutor Ali Mukartono stated Ahok had intentionally cited a Quranic verse during his working visit to influence voters.

    He further said Ahok had attempted to encourage residents to set aside the Quranic verse during the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election. “It is the suspect himself who used the Quran to deceive the residents,” Ali said.

     

    Source: The Jakarta Post

  • Study Finds Majority Of People Condemning Ahok’s ‘Blasphemy’ Not Well Informed

    Study Finds Majority Of People Condemning Ahok’s ‘Blasphemy’ Not Well Informed

    Few Indonesian people who believe that Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama has committed blasphemy have a clear understanding of the context of his speech during which he quoted a Quranic verse, a survey has found.

    The survey commissioned by Jakarta-based pollster Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) revealed on Thursday that 45.2 percent of respondents regarded Ahok’s remarks during his conversation with local residents in Thousand Islands regency on Sept.27, in which he cited Surah al-Maidah, as blasphemous.

    However, when they were asked about the governor’s remarks, only 11.5 percent of the respondents said they clearly understood what Ahok had said.

    The study further found that only 12.9 percent of the public had seen the video of Ahok’s speech uploaded on the Internet.

    “As the study found that only a very few people had actually watched the video [of Ahok’s statement], much of the blasphemy-related negative sentiment about Ahok is baseless,” SMRC founder Saiful Mujani told a discussion on Thursday.

    SMRC surveyed 1,220 respondents aged 17 years and above in its study conducted from Nov. 22 through 28 in response to the massive anti-Ahok demonstration organized by Islamic organizations, including the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), on Nov. 4. The survey was conducted through direct interviews with respondents in various areas across the country.

     

    Source: The Jakarta Post

  • Jokowi Treason Arrests Questioned

    Jokowi Treason Arrests Questioned

    President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s commitment to freedom of speech has come under scrutiny following the arrest of several antigovernment figures last week over alleged treason.

    Jokowi won praise for his bold move to take part in mass prayers last Friday with thousands of Muslims who demanded the imprisonment of blasphemy suspect and incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama.

    Hours earlier, the police had arrested 11 people accused of attempting to mobilize a movement to overthrow the government by utilizing the large-scale rally.

    On Saturday, the National Police released eight of the suspects, including activist Ratna Sarumpaet and musician-turned-politician Ahmad Dhani.

    Former anti-Soeharto activist Sri Bintang Pamungkas, 71, and two siblings, Jamran and Rizal, remain in detention.

    Another suspect, Alvin Indra, was only announced by the police in a press conference on Saturday.

    Most of the suspects were charged under articles 107, 110 and 87 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) on treason and conspiracy to commit treason.

    Sri Bintang was also charged under the 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law for hate speech.

    In a video uploaded to YouTube, he was seen encouraging dozens of people to demand that the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) overthrow Jokowi.

    “If [we all] unite, let’s go together and demand the MPR revoke Jokowi’s mandate as president,” Sri Bintang said in the video.

    Jamran and Rizal were also charged with the 2008 law as the police claimed they had actively spread hate speech and provocation on the internet ahead of the Dec. 2 rally.

    National Police spokesperson Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli denied that the arrests were arbitrary or aimed at silencing government critics.

    “There is a clear line of distinction between delivering criticism and attempting to conspire and provoke people to commit treason,” Boy said on Saturday.

    “[In this case] treason was [the action of those] who used their freedom to spread provocative ideas that could create a reaction, mislead people and drive public opinion,” he added.

    He claimed the police had solid grounds to name them suspects, based on evidence including a “handwritten document and electronic evidence that recorded a conversation among the suspects”.

    One of the suspects, activist Firza Husein, is the chairwoman of the Cendana Friend Solidarity Movement (SSC), an organization that reveres former president Soeharto.

    Cyberlaw expert Megi Margiyono urged the authorities to be prudent and cautious in handling the cases, citing people’s freedom of expression, which is protected under the 1945 Constitution and international laws, including the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

    “Don’t make the public negatively assume that this is an attempt [by the authorities] to silence those who strongly criticize the government,” he told The Jakarta Post.

    Similarly, Asep Komarudin of the Legal Aid Institute for the Press (LBH Pers) viewed the arrests as a threat to freedom of expression.

    “It’s bad for the public image of the President and the government. Government intelligence should have waited for them to take concrete action before arresting them,” he told the Post.

    Asep said treason charges in the Criminal Code had been loosely used by the government in the past to silence government critics.

    Under the New Order regime, Indonesia saw numerous activists who opposed Soeharto charged with treason. Since the Reform Era, treason has been mostly reserved for Papuan activists and terror suspects.

    Constitutional expert Refly Harun, however, said it was “right” for the police to make the arrests as a preventive action.

    “However, the authorities should ensure they uphold the rule of law and have strong evidence,” he said.

    Boy suggested that labor activists may have also planned to use the rally to launch a treason plot.

    “We are now investigating whether [labor activists] also had a treason plot,” he said.

    _________________________________

    8 treason suspects

    • Rachmawati Soekarnoputri: The daughter of Indonesia’s first president Sukarno often takes a different stance to her sister, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman and former president Megawati Soekarnoputri. In 2002, Rachmawati founded the Pioneers’ Party before joining the NasDem Party, which is led by media mogul and President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s confidant Surya Paloh.

    • Firza Husain: Jakarta Police investigators arrested the activist at the Sari Pan Pacific Hotel in Central Jakarta. She reportedly has a close relationship with the once-powerful “Cendana” family, which refers to the family of Indonesia’s second president Soeharto.

    • Kivlan Zen: The 69-year-old retired two-star Army general was known as a staunch supporter of Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto during the 2014 presidential election. Since his retirement from the Army, Kivlan has often been involved in political activities.

    • Sri Bintang Pamungkas: Sri Bintang, 71, is best known for his political activities during the authoritarian regime of Soeharto, when he was once jailed for treason. In 1996, he founded the United Democratic Indonesia Party, which garnered a mere 0.13 percent of votes during the 1999 general election.

    • Ratna Sarumpaet: The actress-turned-activist has frequently made headlines for her fierce criticism of Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama’s policies. The mother of actress Atiqah Hasiholan is also known to be vocal on social media.

    • Adityawarman Thaha: The retired Army general is a renowned counterterrorism expert. As chairman of the Indonesian Muslim Students’ Family Association between 2011 and 2015, Adityawarman is also known for his close relationship with conservative Muslim groups. He was Prabowo’s supporter in the 2014 presidential race.

    • Eko Suryo Santjojo: Eko was the secretary-general of Rachmawati’s Pioneers’ Party. Eko has a master’s degree in law and is a member of the rector’s council of the Rachmawati-led Bung Karno University (UBK) in Jakarta.

    • Alvin Indra: Little is known about Alvin, whose status as a suspect in the alleged treason plot was only revealed on Saturday. Circulating rumors have suggested he is a labor activist.

     

    Source: The Jakarta Post