Prabowo's Joke While Searching the Podium: 'I Hope I'm Not Being Tapped'

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - President of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto referenced the issue of surveillance against him while delivering a speech at the 15th anniversary of the Nasdem Party on Wednesday (11/11/2026).

Initially, he noted that there have been many dynamics occurring in Indonesia recently, which caused him to lose focus.

This remark came after he first greeted the attending ministers, rather than the chairpersons of political parties.

"Oh no, that was my mistake, I should have addressed the political party leaders first. Chairperson of the Golkar Party, Mr. Bahlil Lahadalia. I apologize. It has been quite dynamic these past few days," Prabowo said at Nasdem Tower, Jakarta, on Wednesday evening.

Prabowo then began to search for something around and under the podium where he was speaking.

He joked about being worried of being surveilled again.

"I hope I’m not being tapped again," said Prabowo.

The Surveillance Case Involving Prabowo

The Indonesian National Police's Criminal Investigation Body (Bareskrim Polri) has named former Chief of Police General Listyo Sigit Prabowo and three other high-ranking police officers—Inspector General Ahrie Sonta, Inspector General Eko Hadi Santoso, and Inspector General Slamet Uliandi—as suspects in a surveillance case.

"The suspects are believed to have conducted illegal surveillance on the President of Indonesia, state officials, political figures, media, and leaders of civil society organizations," said Bareskrim Chief Commissioner Asep Safrudin during a press conference at the National Police Headquarters on Tuesday (3/11/2026).

Asep explained that the alleged surveillance occurred throughout 2025 to 2026.

The suspects reportedly ordered surveillance without adhering to the procedures outlined in the Chief of Police Regulation Number 5 of 2010.

Police also suspect that the suspects deleted surveillance traces through the Lawful Interception Management System (LIMS) in October 2026.

During the investigation of this case, police seized 11 mobile phones, one iPad tablet, and four USB flash drives as evidence.

For their actions, the three suspects face charges under Article 258 of Law Number 1 of 2023 regarding the Indonesian Penal Code, with a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.

They are also charged under Article 332 Section (1) and/or Section (2) of Law Number 1 of 2023 with a maximum prison sentence of six years.

In addition, the police are applying Article 32 Section (1) of the Electronic Information and Transactions Law with a maximum prison sentence of eight years.