Tempo.CO, Jakarta – Indonesia's Labor Party President Said Iqbal strongly condemned the acts of terror, including the delivery of a pig's head and rat carcasses to the Tempo office. He suspects that these threats against Tempo will persist.
"If asked, we, the Labor Party, and the Garda Metal as a component of the Labor Party, are ready to guard the Tempo office," said Said Iqbal, in a video statement received by Tempo on Monday, March 24, 2025.
Said Iqbal also urged the formation of a joint fact-finding team to investigate the perpetrators of the terror.
"Terror against the press must not be allowed. The press is a pillar of democracy."
In addition to showing support for Tempo, Said Iqbal asked President Prabowo Subianto to dismiss the Head of the Presidential Office, Hasan Nasbi, for his response to the pig's head terror. When asked by reporters about the terror, Hasan instead suggested cooking the pig's head.
"Asking Mr. President Prabowo Subianto to dismiss Hasan Nasbi, the Head of the Presidential Communication Office, who said the pig should be cooked," he said.
On March 19, 2025, the Tempo office also received a package containing a pig's head without ears. The package was sent by a courier wearing a delivery service uniform. The package was addressed to Francisca Christy Rosana, a political desk journalist and host of the Bocor Alus Politik podcast.
On March 21, 2025, the Editor-in-Chief of Tempo, Setri Yasra, went to the National Police Headquarters to report the package containing the pig's head. The package has been handed over to the police as evidence.
The National Police Headquarters has formed a team to investigate the perpetrators and their motives. Around 20 police officers visited the Tempo office and took a package containing six rat carcasses that was sent early on Saturday.
The Tempo newsroom received a second package, this time containing a box filled with severed rat carcasses. Tempo's cleaning staff discovered the package on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at 08:00 AM WIB (Western Indonesia Time).
An initial investigation by the building management revealed that an unidentified individual had thrown the box over the fence of the Tempo office complex on Jalan Palmerah Barat, South Jakarta, at 02:11 AM WIB.
– Egi Adyatma contributed to the writing of this article.