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Indosat probed by Bekasi Police over ad
Representatives of cellular provider PT Indosat were questioned by Bekasi Police on Saturday, following a complaint filed by several Bekasi residents who took offense at the companyâs social media advertisement, which they believe insulted Bekasi
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epresentatives of cellular provider PT Indosat were questioned by Bekasi Police on Saturday, following a complaint filed by several Bekasi residents who took offense at the company's social media advertisement, which they believe insulted Bekasi.
'We were questioned and we provided information complete with the necessary documents related to the viral advertisement on Indosat's roaming service,' Adrian Prasanto, the company's head of public relations said as quoted by tribunnews.com on Saturday.
'We also explained to the police why we could not fulfill their summons last Thursday,' he went on. Adrian said Indosat had not completed all the necessary documents for the first questioning session slated for Thursday and asked for postponement, not because they did not respect the legal process.
The case arose from an advertisement, created by an outside advertising agency contracted by Indosat, that had been on social media since late December and which has offended some people. The advertisement slogan read 'Going on holiday to Aussie [Australia] is easier than to Bekasi,' a reference to Bekasi's notorious traffic congestion.
On Jan. 9, several Bekasi residents filed a police report against Indosat. The plaintiff's lawyer, Naupal Al Rasyid, accused the company of violating Article 27 of the Information and Electronics Transactions Law and Article 310 of the Criminal Code on defamation.
On Jan. 12, a number of residents went to Indosat's office in South Bekasi, West Java. They carried signs stating their complaints and wrote protest messages on the building's walls in pink spray paint.
Indosat's head of sales in Greater Jakarta, Soejanto Prasetya, said as quoted by tribunnews.com that the company apologized on Jan. 9 when they realized that some people had taken offense.
Bekasi Mayor Rahmat Effendi also aired his disappointment and defended his municipality, saying traffic congestion was not exclusive to Bekasi.
The location of Bekasi municipality and regency near to Cikampek toll road means that commuters to and from Jakarta merge with vehicles and trucks going to Karawang, Purwakarta, Bandung or to Java's northern coastal road in West Java.
The Bekasi Barat exit is also often crowded as there are at least three large shopping centers in the vicinity.
After apologizing, Indosat terminated its contract with the advertising agency.
Head of Indosat's Greater Jakarta region, Suwignyo, explained that the creative team at the agency said they chose Bekasi simply because it rhymed with 'Aussie', and there was no attempt at defamation.
To make amends the company's president director Alexander Rusli and his staff visited Attaqwa Islamic boarding school in Bekasi on Jan. 14 and met with the head of the school, Mohammad Amin Noer.
During the meeting, Indosat apologized again to Bekasi's residents.
Amin, who is also the head of Bekasi's Ulema Council, received the entourage and lauded the move, saying that apologizing was in line with Islamic teaching.
During the visit, Indosat also donated several computer units to the boarding school.
