Guessing The Reason Ridwan Kamil Asked Mahfud MD For The Responsibility Of The Rizieq Crowd

West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil while meeting police calls (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil and Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam) Mahfud MD, related to the crowd raised by supporters of the Grand Imam of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), Rizieq Shihab, has attracted public attention. This is then seen as a reflection of poor communication between the central and regional governments.

This mutual accountability began after Ridwan Kamil asked Mahfud to take responsibility for the emergence of a crowd of supporters of Rizieq Shihab. He even said that this problem actually originated from Mahfud's statement which he considered triggering the crowd.

"My initial confusion is that this is from Mr. Mahfud. There is a different interpretation in the community, that when Habib Rizieq comes home he can be picked up as long as it is orderly and peaceful," Ridwan said after undergoing an examination at the West Java Police Headquarters, Bandung, Wednesday, December 16.

The former mayor of Bandung then asked Mahfud to take responsibility as the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs. In other words, he asked the police to also examine the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs.

Moreover, he considers Mahfud's statement before Rizieq arrived in Indonesia on November 10, causing crowds in a number of locations including Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Cengkareng, Banten.

"I think he must be responsible and everyone has a role that must be clarified," he said.

Hearing Ridwan ask himself to be responsible, Mahfud also answered this through his Twitter account @mohmahfudmd and claimed he was ready to take responsibility for his statement.

"Ready, Kang RK. I am responsible. I announce that HRS will be allowed to return to Indonesia because he has the legal right to return home," he said in his official account.

In addition, he also confirmed that he had announced the matter of picking up Rizieq at the airport even though at that time he emphasized that the pick-ups must be orderly and obey health protocols to prevent transmission of COVID-19.

"I also announced that HRS could be picked up in an orderly manner and did not violate health protocols. I also asked HRS to be delivered to Petamburan," he said.

Even so, he felt this was conveyed because the government at that time provided discretion for pick-up, security, and delivery and everything was running in an orderly manner. "But the events in the evening and the following days that stirred up crowds were beyond the discretion I announced," he stressed.

After Mahfud tweeted this through his official account, Ridwan replied to Mahfud's statement again. This answer was conveyed via his Twitter account @ridwankamil. In his tweet, Ridwan then assessed that the central and regional governments should share the same responsibility.

"Ready Pak Mahfud. The central and regional governments must share the responsibility," he said.

Through his writing, he questioned why only regional heads from West Java were repeatedly questioned by the police while the crowd also occurred at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Cengkareng, Banten, in fact they were kept quiet even though the conditions were so crowded that he thought they caused losses.

"Why is the hassle at the airport which is so massive and detrimental to health / economy that there is no inspection like us over and over again. Why is the regional head being held responsible for it? We are sorry if it is not pleasing," he said through his tweet.

Ridwan Kamil and Mahfud MD responded to this condition of mutual response by a member of Commission II of the DPR RI Nasir Djamil. He asked Ridwan Kamil not to be 'whiny' because as a regional head he has responsibilities according to the laws and regulations, as well as Mahfud MD.

Throwing a statement like the one he made after undergoing an examination at the West Java Police Headquarters, in fact Nasir considered it a sign that he was not ready to assume his responsibilities as regional head.

"Ridwan Kamil, don't be silly. Each of them has their responsibilities according to the laws and regulations. Throwing the responsibility to the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs over crowds shows that RK is not ready to take responsibility," Nasir said when contacted by VOI.

Not only that, this kind of shifting of responsibilities also shows a wrong communication pattern between the central and local governments.

"Throwing the responsibility to the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs shows there is no coordination between the central and regional (government, red)," he said.

In line with Nasir, Executive Director of Indonesia Political Review (IPR), Ujang Komarudin, assessed that what Ridwan Kamil and Mahfud MD were doing was an example of poor communication between the central and regional governments. Apart from that, the two of them also seemed to build an image in this matter.

"Both of them want to build their own image," said Ujang.

Especially for Ridwan, he was also considered as if he didn't want to be blamed so that he brought up another name, namely the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD in this swirl of the crowd case.

Furthermore, Ujang assessed that this kind of thing should not have happened. Because, blaming each other does not solve the problems that have occurred and related to legal problems, anyone involved in this case should be examined and clarified, including the minister.

"The good thing is not to blame each other. Regarding the concept of justice, the law must be fair and impartial. So if a regional head is questioned about crowds, there is nothing wrong with the police to clarify and question the minister," he said.

It's just that, he considered, the police would not call Mahfud. This is because the police are under the coordination of the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs.

"It is also impossible for the police to ask Mahfud's clarification because the police are in coordination," said Ujang.