Tjahjo Kumolo hands over all protected animals to the state in history Today, February 15, 2016
History today, 10 years ago, February 15, 2016, the Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri), Tjahjo Kumolo, officially distributed all protected animals to the Jakarta Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA). The handover was made in response to criticism after his collection appeared on television.
Previously, Tjahjo was proud to show off his collection of goods from to other treasures. He considers this a form of openness to the public. The problem arises. Tjahjo actually showed off the protected animals from tigers to bears.
State officials who have hobbies as collectors of certain objects are public secrets. Hobby collecting is done for fun. It can also be considered to provide peace of mind.
The narrative that became the outlet for Tjahjo Kumolo was happy to collect many things from kris, spears, to other treasures. The Minister of Home Affairs has a lot of collectibles. Tjahjo also thought about showing off his collection at a special event on one of the private television stations that aired on February 12, 2016.
Tjahjo tried to show his collection that he had kept for decades. Tjahjo was happy and proud to show it off. Then, Tjahjo also did not forget to show off his eternal animals from tigers and bears.
The collection of Tjahjo's protected animals then sparked criticism and condemnation. This condition is because Tjahjo is seen as a politician who sets a bad example for the community. Tigers are protected animals.
All the people are afraid if Tjahjo's actions normalize the ownership of protected animals. In fact, the rules are clear. Protected animals cannot be collected freely because there are legal rules. All of this is contained in Law Number 5 of 1990 concerning Conservation.
Anyone who keeps protected animals (alive or dead) is threatened with imprisonment. The government is also asked to crack down on Tjahjo.
"In the 'One Hour Closer to Tjahjo Kumolo' event which aired on TV One on February 12, 2016 at 19.30-20.30. The Minister of Home Affairs showed off his collection of protected animals. The animals include tigers and leopards that are protected by law. What do you think about state officials who collect protected animals like this?" said the ProFauna Indonesia NGO on its Facebook page, February 13, 2016.
Criticism and condemnation were then received by Tjahjo on February 15, 2016. Tjahjo immediately handed over all his preserved animal collections to the Jakarta BKSDA. The handover made Tjahjo not get any punishment. His move was appreciated by many parties.
Tjahjo himself also told the story of how he started collecting stuffed animals. It all started when he got the inspiration through a dream to buy something that could take care of his house. His choice fell on the tiger offset.
"Yes. On Monday we sent a letter. We will send a letter with the preserved animal to the head of the BKSDA. A copy to the President of the Republic of Indonesia, the Minister of Home Affairs, the Minister of Transportation, the Chief of Staff of the President."
"My intention is good. The principle is to be open with taking care of, storing these items and the preserved animals. But some people, especially animal observation organizations, have given me input that the preserved animals should be handed over to the BKSDA because they are protected by law," said Tjahjo as quoted by lamandetik.com, February 15, 2016.