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Indonesian Minister Draws Twitter Anger for Disaster Remarks
November 29, 2009

Indonesians are among some of the most avid users of online social media like Twitter and Facebook. (Photo: Yudhi Sukma Wijaya, JG) Indonesians are among some of the most avid users of online social media like Twitter and Facebook. (Photo: Yudhi Sukma Wijaya, JG)
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Lemi4
5:48pm Dec 1, 2009

Some fundamentalist Christians would argue Aceh was punished for their discriminatory and abusive attitudes towards Christians and other non-Muslims in the '70s...

...but that's neither here nor there.

batikbooby
8:25pm Nov 29, 2009

Time he went back to school. He must be the most misinformed Information Minister on the planet. Unfortunately, knowledge of ancient Islamic texts does not constitute knowledge of science, or the way the world actually is or, it would appear, politics. A dangdut bar would probably provide him with both a stronger grasp on reality and a less repugnant attitude.

Wong Edan
7:39pm Nov 29, 2009

Rubbish. Aceh and West Sumatra are two of the most "devout" areas in Indonesia, so was god having a laugh? This kind of comment just goes to show how out of touch the religious fanatics are in Indonesia. Don't they want to develop one day? Pathetic.

Jeanne Hachette
5:37pm Nov 29, 2009

These glorious religious leaders should study geology and tectonics. It would prevent them to issue stupid comments.

rigsby100
12:53pm Nov 29, 2009

Hogwash

A government minister drew sharp criticism from earthquake victims Saturday and alienated some of his Twitter followers by blaming natural disasters in Indonesia on immorality.

Communication and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring linked disasters to declining public morals when he addressed a prayer meeting in the city of Padang to mark Idhul Adha on Friday.

"Television broadcasts that destroy morals are plentiful in this country and therefore disasters will continue to occur," Antara quoted Sembiring as saying.

He also referred to Indonesian-made hard-core sex DVDs available in street markets as an example of growing public decadence and called for tougher laws against pornography.

Indonesia straddles a series of fault lines that make the nation prone to volcanic and seismic activity. A giant quake off the country on Dec. 26, 2004, triggered the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 230,000 people, half of them in Aceh.

A magnitude 7.6 temblor on Sept. 30 killed more than 1,000 on western Sumatra.

News of what Sembiring, a former leader of the Islamic-based Prosperous Justice Party, said provoked criticism Saturday from disaster victims.

Kikie Marzuki, a Muslim Aceh resident who lost 10 relatives in the tsunami, said victims were not to blame.

"I prefer to believe that natural disasters occur because of the destructive force of nature that cannot be avoided by humans," he said.

Sembiring's remarks also brought swift rebuke from some of his followers on the social interaction network Twitter.

One tweeter, who identified himself as Ari Margiono, told Sembiring his words inferred that residents of Aceh and Padang were more decadent than other Indonesians.

"Disasters provide a momentum for repentance," he told the Jakarta Globe earlier.

Not everyone disagreed with him, and his speech in Padang won the backing of the Indonesian Ullema Council.

"Based on the religious view, a disaster could be seen as a punishment for people's sins, and could also as a reminder to us of our mistakes," prominent council member Ma'ruf Amin said.

AP