Indonesia's Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia Faces Political Insult Over Coal Issue

DPP PDIP chair Deddy Sitorus referred to Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia as “si bolu ketan,” prompting strong criticism from Golkar's youth wing (PP AMPG). PP AMPG leader Sedek Bahta labelled the nickname unethical and damaging to democratic discourse, urging Sitorus to publicly apologise and emphasising the need for investigations to be based on solid evidence rather than speculation.

Golkar MP Ade Ginanjar also responded, warning that the coal‑procurement dispute should not be turned into partisan politics. He reaffirmed support for Bahlil's efforts to secure energy security and improve coal sector governance, calling for transparent, data‑driven handling of the issue and for any non‑compliant mining licences to be revoked.

Both parties called for respect of the presumption of innocence and for legal processes to proceed without political interference.