Did you know that Indonesian law forbids us from insulting the national flag, language, state symbol, and even the national anthem?
Dangdut singer Zaskia Gotik found that out the hard way when she insulted Pancasila, Indonesia’s state symbol and its official philosophical foundation last week when she appeared on a live TV variety show.
Zaskia was participating in a quiz segment of the show when she was asked to identify the fifth principle of Pancasila. She jokingly replied “bebek nungging,” which translates to a duck that’s bending over. (Don’t worry if you don’t get the joke – it was totally random and didn’t actually make any sense.)
Despite the non-sequitur nature of her response, it still drew heavy criticism from citizens, prompting her to apologize for the inappropriate joke.
However, it looks like the joke is turning out to be a serious problem for Zaskia, as the Jakarta Metro Police plan on officially pursuing the case.
“Today I’m preparing a letter to summon [Zaskia Gothic for police interrogation]. The plan is we’ll interrogate her next week,” said Commissioner Nico Setiawan, head of the Cyber Crimes Sub Directorate for the Jakarta Metro Police, as quoted by Tempo today.
The possible punishment for Zaskia’s inappropriate joke is no laughing matter either – she could be jailed for at least five years and subjected to a fine of Rp 500 million.
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