TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

City Police rush to uncover SBY license plate owner

The City Police have launched an investigation to identify the owner of a car that has the license plate number B 8360 SBY, which has been construed as an insult against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Hans David Tampubolon (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Thu, May 5, 2011

Share This Article

Change Size

City Police rush to uncover SBY license plate owner

T

he City Police have launched an investigation to identify the owner of a car that has the license plate number B 8360 SBY, which has been construed as an insult against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

“Our intelligence division is cooperating with the Bogor Police to investigate the case,” City Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Baharuddin Djafar told reporters.

A photo of a car license plate reading B 8360 SBY has been circulating on social media networks over the past few days. Some believe that the license plate was created to insult the President, who is often referred to as SBY. The license plate, they say, can be read as “BEGO SBY”. Bego means idiot in local slang.

Some alleged that the car pictured in the photo — a Toyota Fortuner – belongs to local psychic and TV personality Ki Gendeng Pamungkas.

This conclusion was prompted by a sticker of the Front Pribumi (Indigenous Front) mass organization plastered on the rear window of the car. Ki Gendeng was chairman of the organization.

Baharudin said the police would have to check that the photo was authentic before investigating who the license plate belonged to.

Some social network users said the photo had likely been digitally manipulated because the letters were not uniform.

“Our investigators will check if the vehicle with the plate really exists or not,” Baharudin said on Wednesday.

Previously, City Police Traffic Division head Sr. Comr. Royke Lumowa said the license plate was not listed in the police database and was therefore illegal.

Royke said a person working for Ki Gendeng had once applied for the same license plate number.

“We rejected the request as we thought the plate could have a negative meaning,” Royke said.

He added that it was possible that the photo was a fake.

The Constitutional Court has annulled three articles in the Criminal Code that criminalized the act of insulting the president.

However, the President is allowed to file a complaint to the police if he is insulted.

In March last year, the city police issued a regulation banning animals at protest rallies after a group of demonstrators brought to a rally a water buffalo that had the word “Sibuya” painted on its rear. “Sibuya” was seen as a reference to SBY.

However, in February this year, the City Police did nothing when members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) threatened to launch a revolution and unseat Yudhoyono if the Ahmadiyah religious sect was not disbanded.

Ismail Hasani, a member of human rights think tank Setara Institute, said the police’s investigation into the license plate picture showed that they were inconsistent in upholding the law.

He said the police had likely chosen to address the license plate issue because it was an easy, whereas cracking down on radical groups such as FPI was more risky.

“There are political choices that have to be made when it comes to the hard-line organizations. The license plate issue has no major political implication,” Ismail told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.