Many Officials Get Pranked For Rp2 Trillion Donation: Proof That Our Leaders Are Not Immune To Hoaks

South Sumatra Police Chief Inspector General Eko Indra Heri and South Sumatra Governor Herman Deru received the symbolic handover of Akidi Tio's grant funds (Source: sumselprov.gov.id)

JAKARTA - The news of a Rp 2 trillion COVID-19 relief fund donation from the heirs of a businessman Akidi Tio led to an alleged hoax case. Maybe you could say that almost all Indonesians have been pranked. State officials are no exception. So why can't even a leader like the Kapolda and the Governor avoid hoaxes?

This afternoon, August 2, the South Sumatra Police team arrested Heryanti, one of the children who gave the Rp2 trillion grant on behalf of Akidi Tio. Heriyati was examined on suspicion of a hoax in handling COVID-19 assistance.

Previously, the family of a businessman from Aceh, Akidi Tio (late) through Heryanti, donated Rp2 trillion in cash to South Sumatra Province to help deal with COVID-19 in the area, Monday, July 26. But it is still only symbolic.

Investigate an investigation, Akidi Tio's donation money has not yet been disbursed, and it is reported that it will only be disbursed today. But fate said otherwise. The donation, which is said to be the second largest after Bill Gates, seems to be just Heriyanti's wishful thinking.

Sadly, the symbolic handing over of aid funds at the South Sumatra Police Headquarters was also attended by South Sumatra Governor Herman Deru, South Sumatra Police Chief Inspector General Eko Indra Heri, South Sumatra Health Service Head Lesty Nuraini and Danrem 044/Gapo Brigadier General Jauhari Agus Suraji.

Symbolic handover of assistance from the family of businessman Akidi Tio through the South Sumatra Police (DOK Polri)

Shocking the public

The news of the granting of these grants shocked the public. The family doctor, Akidi Tio, who was appointed to facilitate the granting of funds, Hardi Darmawan, was no exception. In his interview on YouTube Helmy Yahya Talk, Hardi admitted that he was surprised when Heriyanti wanted to donate a fantastic amount.

"Two days before the 26th, I got a call from his son (Akidi Tio). I used to call for treatment. But this time I didn't. They said they wanted to help. I was surprised. What kind of help? COVID-19 relief assistance," said Hardi.

In addition, Hardi also said that he had felt wrong by hearing the amount of money that would be donated. "I asked how much would you like to help? He said Rp. 2 trillion. I was surprised. No one has ever donated 2T. Huh? Did I hear wrong?"

Hardi shared the reason why Heriyanti wanted to donate the money for the handling of COVID-19. Hardi said he was sad to see that many people had difficulty finding hospitals, medicine, and oxygen.

"He said he saw a lot of his friends looking for a hospital with difficulties, some of them also died. Some were looking for medicine. Some were looking for oxygen. So he wanted a grant. He remembered his father Akidi Tio's message. That he should help people in need," said Hardi.

In addition, Hardi explained the reason why Heriyanti gave the grant funds to the South Sumatra Police Chief Inspector General Eko Indra Heri. According to his narrative, Heriyanti deliberately gave his contribution through Inspector General Pol Eko because they had been friends for a long time. Even Akidi Tio's family knows Inspector General Pol Eko's parents.

"He kept mentioning the name, Inspector General Eko Indra Heri, Kapolda South Sumatra. Why did it have to go to Pak Eko? They had known him well from the start. Even his parents knew him.

And according to Hardi, when he conveyed the news to the South Sumatra Police Chief and Kadinkes, they admitted that they were both surprised. "So when I conveyed it to Pak Eko, he was also shocked, he said that he was weak. I conveyed the same to the Kadinkes, too, he's also surprised that he's never heard of that kind of money."

Valid doubt

Before the case of Heriyanti's arrest occurred, the former Minister of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia, Hamid Awaludin, had doubts about the truth of the donation, which shocked almost all of Indonesia. In his writings in Kompas, Hamid doubts the sane sense of our nation, especially the officials in this country.

"I do not give admiration, let alone praise. I am even more suspicious about the sanity of all of us. I am increasingly firm that officials in this country have not learned anything from past events," wrote Hamid.

Former Minister of Law and Human Rights, Hamid Awaludin (Source: essa.id)

Several similar incidents have occurred even since the era of President Soekarno. At that time Bung Karno had received a husband and wife at the state palace who claimed to be king and queen of the Anak Dalam tribe in Jambi. But later it turned out that the two men were pedicab drivers and the wife was a lower-class prostitute.

Then in the era of President Megawati Soekarnoputri, we were once surprised by the Minister of Religion Said Agil Husin Al-Munawar. He claims that there is a huge treasure that can be used to pay off the entire state debt.

However, the Minister of Religion was finally "raised" by the then Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare, Jusuf Kalla. Because it is impossible for the treasure that is reportedly stored under the Batutulis Inscription, Bogor, to be able to pay off foreign debts which in early 2000 amounted to approximately Rp. 1,500 trillion.

And today, Hamid's doubts about the Rp2 trillion donation were confirmed by the institution that received the grants itself, the South Sumatra Police. The local police team arrested Heryanti on suspicion of a hoax case. So why can't high ranking state officials be immune from hoaxes?

Social karma

To answer that, we contacted the sociologist of the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN), Tantan Hermansyah. Tantan said why high-ranking officials can also be pranked, is because many people are easily tempted by the fantastic amount of wealth even though it doesn't make sense.

"Then why do high-ranking officials get pranked too, to put it simply, maybe it's just social karma. Maybe. Because many people are easily tempted by fantastic numbers even though it doesn't make sense," said Tantan to VOI.

The French sociologist, Jean Baudrillard as quoted by Tantan once said: "there is no longer any fiction that can be distinguished from reality". And according to Tantan, what Baudrillard said confirms that modern humans are currently trapped in stuttering to position themselves in fictional or real reality.

"Maybe because the drama in politics and policy is so excited, it must be balanced by another excitement, namely pranks," said Tantan.

Tantan said this prank would not have happened if the packaging wasn't sophisticated. Moreover, he said, this nation is indeed fond of entertainment. "So the prank event has to be seen that there are people who want to play because the audience is very large."

"Being a player, if successful, it will gain success. Success can be positive or negative," said Tantan.

*Read other information about HOAKS or other interesting articles from Ramdan Febrian Arifin.

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