East Kalimantan governor's aide apologizes after protest shove
Asky Rizal Toding called the move spontaneous and without orders, and pledged not to repeat it.
Aide to East Kalimantan Governor Rudy Mas'ud, Asky Rizal Toding, apologized after shoving a participant in the GMNI Samarinda protest at the East Kalimantan governor's office compound on Monday (19/10) afternoon. In an apology video cited on Wednesday (21/10), Asky admitted his behavior was arrogant, said the act was wrong, and stated it was done spontaneously without anyone's direction. Earlier, the governor's expert team for information and public communication, Sudarno, confirmed the incident. He said it happened as Rudy was heading to Maghrib prayers at Nurul Mukminin Mosque when the crowd blocked the governor. In the circulating video, a female demonstrator had physical contact and her phone fell. Sudarno said the aide's physical action was still unjustifiable even though the situation had escalated.