Letter to the editor: Statement from communications and information technology minister

The Jakarta Post, Wed, 06/23/2010 10:04 AM | Opinion

I would like to convey my reply to the headline published in The Jakarta Post on June 22, that I did not make a statement that degraded a religion.

On the morning of Thursday, June 17, a meeting was held at the Communications and Information Technology Ministry, attended by Press Council chairman Bagir Manan, Police Criminal Detective Agency deputy chief Dikdik Mulyana Arif Mansyur, Ramli from the Justice and Human Rights Ministry and a representative of the Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry, for the purpose of appealing that Internet service providers minimize the spread of pornography on the Internet.

At the meeting I requested the police promptly conduct a thorough investigation of the pornographic video case so that news on people resembling each other in this case be clarified.

In this way, the public would no longer be confused. Without clear explanation, this issue will remain unresolved. And unless this story of resemblance is clarified on the basis of investigation by law enforcers, it will exhaust public energy while other no less important problems have yet to be given due attention by the whole nation.

In connection with such “resemblance”, without any pretension I mentioned to the forum a lesson from history, which has also become common knowledge, that Muslims are convinced Prophet Isa was not crucified, but it was a man resembling Prophet Isa who was crucified. Meanwhile, Christians are convinced that Jesus was crucified. Without any intention to involve the aspect of theology, I mentioned that this issue of resemblance had a long presence in history.

My statement is a historical fact, which is neutral and true. I have never linked the pornographic video case to the two religious figures.

Later, Rakyat Merdeka Online on June 17 posted an intriguing article titled “Eager to unveil Ariel, Tifatul implicates Prophet Isa and Jesus”, written by Zul Hidayat Siregar. But the article contained incomplete substance of my explanation at the meeting. Controversy intensified further following a public debate that was only based on the title of the article, without delving into its substance, with ample chance of giving rise to misunderstanding in society.

I thank you for your understanding and apologize for any inconvenience. This will hopefully serve as a valuable lesson for all parties, including myself.

Tifatul Sembiring

Jakarta

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