DPR Values the Phenomenon of "Observer Inflation" There is Truth

JAKARTA - The Chairman of Commission III of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Habiburokhman, considered the statement by the Cabinet Secretary Lieutenant Colonel Teddy Indrawijaya that there was a phenomenon of inflation of observers was true. Because according to him, many parties expressed their opinions but were not supported by accurate data, such as the founder of Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC), Saiful Mujani who called for consolidation to overthrow President Prabowo Subianto.

"There are many observers who have delivered constructive criticism to the Prabowo Government, and many of them have been followed up. However, not all criticism is good, there is also criticism that is not constructive and even destructive alias toxic," Habiburokhman told reporters, Monday, April 13.

"There are observers who claim to be critics, but what is conveyed is more propaganda of black, lies and hatred. It could be that their motive is only to seize power either through the constitutional path or through the unconstitutional path," he continued.

Habiburokhman assessed that it was not allowed to generalize that all criticism was not good. But on the other hand, it was also not allowed to generalize that all criticism was good.

"We follow up on good criticism, while we respond to bad criticism with education to the people so that it does not become a poison for democracy," he said.

According to him, the criticism containing an invitation to overthrow President Prabowo by Saiful Mujani and several other figures also needs to be criticized. Because, he said, the invitation to overthrow the president is a movement that violates the law.

"We know that Saiful Mujani is a wealthy political elite who has been at odds with President Prabowo, including in the last presidential election. Is Saiful Mujani's criticism purely disseminated for improvement, or is it just a partisan political operation," he explained.

"If Saiful Mujani is eager to seize power, that is his right. However, the political cost that must be paid by the people is too great if there is a party that wants to seize power unconstitutionally," added the Gerindra legislator.

Habiburokhman said President Prabowo has at least 5 years to fulfill his political promises, while the people can make an evaluation in the 2029 election.

"If Pak Prabowo's performance is not satisfactory to the people, they can stop the mandate, but if it is considered satisfactory to the people, they can continue to give the mandate for the next 5 years," he said.

"What is clear is that President Prabowo is committed to maintaining democracy, that is why, until now, after almost 1.5 years President Prabowo has been in power, no Indonesian citizen has been sentenced for criticizing or even insulting President Prabowo," he concluded.

Previously, the Cabinet Secretary (Seskab) Teddy Indra Wijaya stated that the government is open to criticism and input from various parties, with emphasis on the importance of data-based and fact-based delivery.

Quoted from the Indonesian President's website, the Presidential Secretariat's Teddy highlighted a phenomenon called "observer inflation", which is the increasing number of parties who express opinions in public spaces without being supported by background expertise or accurate data.

"Now there is a phenomenon, what is it? There is a phenomenon called observer inflation. So there are a lot of observers. There are hard observers, but his background is not there," said Teddy in his statement to the media at the Presidential Palace Complex, Jakarta, Friday, April 10.

Teddy added that some opinions that have developed in society are not entirely based on facts and have the potential to mislead the public. However, the Seskab emphasized that the public's trust in the government remains high.

"There are military observers, there are foreign observers. And those observers' data do not match the facts. The data is wrong," said Teddy.

"But what is the fact? The fact is that more than 96 million people trust Mr. Prabowo, they don't trust them. That is a real proof of public trust. Not an assumption," he continued.