Do Not Make Bombs as Jokes, Foreign Ministry Advises Indonesians Visiting Abroad

Jakarta, 23 Jumadil Awwal 1438/23 Februari 2017 (MINA) – The Indonesian Foreign Ministry has appealed to all Indonesian citizens to refrain from joking about a bomb when they are abroad, especially while in the airport or on board of a plane.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Armanata Nasir, better known by his nicknme Tata, gave the example of two Indonesian air passengers who were forced to deal with airport authorities as they wanted to return to Indonesia because of their reckless attitude and made the bomb as a joke.

“We must be careful in saying something or act, even though it was uttered jokingly in an airport, let alone in the plane because it would always be taken seriously by the airport authorities,” said Tata at the Foreign Ministry here Thursday (23/2).

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He explained what happened on two Indonesians, namely Umi widiyani and Tri Ning, in which their misfotune started from a bag belonging to Umi who was put in the trunk cabin, assisted by Royal Brunei Airlines’ flight attendant.

When asked what was in the bag because it was heavy, Umi answered it was a bomb that actually it’s just souvenirs.

“It’s very sensitive. After that, the flight attendance reported to pilot, and the pilot passed on it to the airport officials, and all the passengers got off and all the bags belonging to the passengers were checked. All the passengers lodged at the hotel for 16 hours and Umi and Tri were interrogated at the airport ” he added.

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Both are Umrah pilgrims from East Java, and only today at 07.00 am they are arriving in Indonesia after one month were detained by Saudi security authorities for questioning and they have now been freed. Fortunately, the case was stopped at the level of investigation, if not, they could go to court and could be sentenced to five years of imprisonment for providing false information.

The Indonesian government itself has apologized to the Saudi government. Umi and Tri have also apologized profusely to the government of Indonesia and Saudi Arabia over their actions.

Tri had to bear the brunt due to the irresponsible joke for her seat was adjacent to Umi’s. (L/R04/RS05)

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Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)