JAKARTA – Former Indonesia vice-president Jusuf Kalla has been reported to the Jakarta Metropolitan Police over alleged blasphemy following a viral video of his remarks during a public lecture at the Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in March which has circulated widely online.
The Indonesian Christian Youth Movement (GAMKI) and several other organisations filed complaints against Mr Kalla on April 12, alleging that parts of his speech amounted to blasphemy as they do not reflect both Christian and Catholic teachings.
Mr Kalla made the remarks on March 5 at the university’s mosque during its Ramadan public lecture series in a 43-minute address titled Indonesia’s Diplomatic Strategy In Mitigating The Potential Escalation Of Multipolar Regional Wars, which was also live-streamed on the mosque’s official YouTube channel.
The complaint centres on Mr Kalla’s reference to past communal conflicts in Indonesia, where he said: “Why do religions easily become a reason for conflict, like in Poso and Ambon? Because both Muslims and Christians believe that killing or being killed can be considered martyrdom.”
“During conflict, both sides hold that belief. If I kill a Muslim, I become a martyr. If I die, I also become a martyr. That makes it difficult to stop,” he added, according to a viral clip circulating on social media.
GAMKI chairman Sahat Martin said in a statement on April 12: “We strongly condemn the statement of Pak Jusuf Kalla, which has hurt our Christian community and caused public commotion.”
The Catholic Youth’s central board, another complainant, also criticised the remarks, saying they were inconsistent with Christian and Catholic teachings, which do not justify violence.
Its chairman Stefanus Asat Gusma said public discussion on religion must be based on accurate understanding, adding that “misinterpreting or oversimplifying religious teachings can lead not only to misunderstanding but also to a breakdown of trust and social harmony”.
Mr Kalla’s spokesperson Husain Abdullah urged those who filed the report to review the full lecture before drawing conclusions, stressing the circulating video was selectively edited and had led to a distorted interpretation.
Mr Husain explained that Mr Kalla was describing “the sociological realities” during past conflicts in Poso and Ambon, when both Muslim and Christian groups invoked “holy war” narratives and framed killing or dying in battle as martyrdom, stressing that these were historical facts rather than Mr Kalla’s personal views.
He added that such interpretations have been corroborated by figures involved in the Malino peace negotiations, initiated by Mr Kalla himself.
“The point of the lecture was precisely to correct those distorted understandings. At that time, both sides believed they were engaged in a holy war, but that was a misinterpretation that led to mass violence,” he said, adding that Mr Kalla consistently emphasised that such acts contradict religious teachings and moral values.
Although no longer in public office, Mr Kalla has in recent weeks increasingly become a reference figure for groups and individuals seeking input or expressing concerns about policies under President Prabowo Subianto’s administration.
The former vice-president has been vocal in voicing criticism over government policies, including Indonesia’s membership in the United States President Donald Trump-led Board of Peace and Mr Prabowo’s decision to enforce a mandatory one-day-a-week work-from-home policy as part of energy saving measure amid soaring fuel prices due to the escalating conflict in the Middle East. THE JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK