If you’ve been reading Indonesian news in the past couple of weeks, it must have been impossible to miss the names Lesti Kejora and Rizky Billar in various headlines. After the celebrity couple admitted that they were already married prior to their highly-publicized wedding last month, at least one organization and a former politician have said they intend on reporting Lesti and Billar to the authorities over what they call public deception.
Lesti, a hugely popular 22-year-old dangdut singer, and Rizky, a 26-year-old sinetron (Indonesian soap opera) actor, officially tied the knot in mid-August in true Indonesian celebrity fashion, during which their grand wedding and the events leading up to the main event were broadcasted live on TV.
However, Leslar — the couple’s portmanteau coined by their fans — sparked some controversy this week after they revealed that they were married under a nikah siri arrangement, which is recognized by religion but not by the state, earlier this year. It was likely that the couple made the announcement to address gossip surrounding Lesti’s baby bump, which, considering its size, suggested that she had been pregnant for longer than just a month.
Following the revelation, some people felt like the deceit was too much and said they would file police reports against Lesti and Billar for public deception and toying with Indonesia’s Marriage Law. Mila Machmudah Djamhari, who’s reportedly a former member of the National Mandate Party (PAN) chapter in East Java, wrote on her Facebook page that she intended to report Leslar for “creating public uproar and messing with sharia law.”
“Why can Leslar be jailed for their lies? Because there’s already jurisprudence with the articles on lies that cause commotion,” Mila wrote, adding that such violation carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison.
Meanwhile, still from East Java, a mass organization named the Indonesian Youth Congress (KPI, not to be confused with the Indonesia Broadcasting Commission) went as far as condemning Leslar for toying with the teachings of Islam. They said they plan on filing their report to the East Java Police tomorrow, explaining that the case may serve an “educational purpose” for the public.
“[Their] marriage is not the problem, but they’re mixing up sharia law with state law, violating the laws on marriage. The Religious Affairs Office (KUA) should legalize their nikah siri so that their children wouldn’t be impacted by their marriage,” KPI’s East Java chapter head Edi Prastio said on Tuesday.
Without offering proof and clearly with too much time on their hands, both Mila and Edi insisted that Lesti and Billar’s nikah siri means they gave false statements about their marital status when they submitted civil documents for their August wedding.
Lesti recently said that she is refusing to get drawn into the hubbub created by the busybodies, stressing that only God and the couple’s families know the truth.
If you’re not in the loop when it comes to mainstream Indonesian entertainment scene, here’s a crash course on Leslar: Born as Lestiani Andryani in West Java’s Cianjur regency, Lesti first rose to fame after winning the first season of singing competition Dangdut Academy (popularly known as D’Academy or DA) in 2014 at 15 years old. A year later, Lesti became the runner-up at the competition’s spin-off, D’Academy Asia, where she competed against dangdut singers from various Southeast Asian countries. Her current stage name derives from her debut single, titled Kejora (morning star).
Rizky Billar is a sinetron actor from the North Sumatra capital of Medan who began his entertainment career as a model. While he’s been in numerous films, sinetrons, and webseries over the years, Billar is arguably well-known for his much-publicized relationship with Lesti, who’s now one of the biggest celebrities in the country.
Lesti and Billar first met on a show hosted by popular talk show host Tukul Arwana in mid-2020, and they have guest starred in a slew of TV shows, webseries, and become the mainstays of celebrity gossip shows ever since.
