Vice President M Jusuf Kalla said it was illogical to assume that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono got married at the age of 16 years before he entered Indonesia`s Military Academy in 1970.
The vice president was commenting on the issue spread by former House of Representatives (DPR) deputy speaker Zaenal Ma`arif that Yudhoyono, a retired army general, was already married when he enrolled at the Military Academy.
"It is illogical to say that President Yudhoyono got married at the age of 16 years," Kalla said when asked to comment on the hostility between the head of state and the former deputy House speaker.
Kalla denied a report that he had summoned Zaenal Ma`arif.
"I did not summon him. But we hope the problem between the president and Zaenal will soon be over," he said.
The VP also said under the principles of Islamic law the matter raised by Zaenal should not be settled in public. Therefore he expressed hope the problem would be resolved amicably.
On Sunday (July 29), President Yudhoyono came to the Jakarta Police Headquarters to report Zaenal for slander and tarnishing his image.
Zaenal had said Yudhoyno was already married when he entered the Military Academy in 1970. He made the remark in reaction to the issuance of a presidential decree discharging him as a member of the House of Representatives (DPR) and removing him from his position as House deputy speaker.
In response to Yudhoyono`s action in reporting him to the police, Zaenal on Tuesday reported the president to the police for slander.
Zaenal came to the Jakarta Police Headquarters to file his report in the company of his lawyers, Mahendra Datta and Achmad Michdan.
The House deputy speaker said that at a recent press conference Yudhoyono attacked his dignity and this had irritated his family and relatives.
He said the president had slandered him so that his fate was now like that of "a damaged cucumber which is again hit by a pile of durians."
Meanwhile, Achmad Michdan said Zaenal had never slandered Yudhoyono but now he (Zaenal) had become a victim of slander.
"We are suing Yudhoyono for violating Article 310 of the Criminal Code on defamation," he said. (*)
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