Najwa Shihab's Response Reported To The Police And Explanation Of The Minister Of Health's Empty Chair

JAKARTA - Najwa Shihab responded to his report to the police because of the empty seat interview, Minister of Health, Terawan Agus Putranto. Najwa Shihab is ready to provide a statement explaining the content of the Minister of Health's empty chair.

"I just learned about this reporting from media friends. I do not know exactly what the reporting basis is, including the alleged articles. I heard that the Polda Metro Jaya rejected the report and asked the reporter to bring this matter to the Press Council. If there is a need for examination, of course I am ready to provide information at the official institution that has the authority to do so, ”said Najwa Shihab as quoted from the Instagram account najwashihab, Tuesday, October 6.

Najwa Shihab explained that the empty seat broadcast was intended to invite public officials to explain their policies related to handling the pandemic.

“That explanation doesn't have to be in Najwa's eyes, it can be anywhere. However, the appearance of the Minister of Health has indeed been minimal from the press since the pandemic has increased, not only in Najwa's eyes. And from time to time, there are more and more parties asking about the presence and proportion of the Minister of Health in handling pandemics, "continued Najwa.

These factors prompted Najwa Shihab to make shows that appeared on Narasi's YouTube channel and social media. The mass media emphasized that Najwa Shihab needed to provide space to discuss and oversee public policies.

"The questions I ask also come from the public, both experts / institutions who have been concerned about the handling of pandemics from the start, and ordinary citizens. These are all efforts to play the function of the media in accordance with the Press Law, namely 'developing public opinion' and 'conducting supervision, criticism, correction and suggestions on matters relating to the public interest', "he explained.

"As far as I can remember, this 'empty chair' treatment has never been done in Indonesia, but it is common in countries that have a long history of press freedom," continued Najwa.

According to Najwa, this concept has been implemented since 2012, including by Piers Morgan at CNN and Lawrence O'Donnell at MSNBC's in the Last Word program. In 2019 in England, Andrew Neil, the BBC's journalist, continued Najwa, also presented an empty chair that was originally filled by Boris Johnson, the candidate for British Prime Minister, who often refused BBC invitations.

"The same thing was done by Kay Burley on Sky News when the Chairman of the Conservative Party James Cleverly was not present at the event he was leading," said Najwa.