The Mayor Of Samarinda Was Examined By Bawaslu Regarding The Allegation Of Mobilization Of The Head Of RT Supporting Child Abuse

Samarinda Mayor Andi Harun/ANTARA/Ahmad Rifandi.

Samarinda Mayor Andi Harun has fulfilled the summons of the local Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) regarding a video circulating on social media showing him suspected of mobilizing the head of the neighborhood unit (RT) to support his son, who is a legislative candidate in the 2024 election.

"I ask that the official summons by Bawaslu be sent so that this problem becomes clear and the problem becomes an official clarification," said Andi Harun as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, January 22.

He apologized to the media for not serving the question because he did not want to extend the news which would give birth to an unhealthy political stigma.

"But I promise that at the right time, in the right institution I will clarify and today is the time for clarification," said Andi Harun.

He explained that the video that went viral on social media was a part of the year-end reflection activity organized by the Samarinda City Government at the end of December 2023.

This activity, he said, aims to convey the achievements of the development of the City of Samarinda in general from 2021 to 2023 and specifically for 2023.

"The year-end reflection activity contains three main government programs, namely flood control and infrastructure development, city planning, as well as community economic development and development," he explained.

Andi Harun said that in the video circulating, he was delivering his opening speech before starting the presentation of the material.

At that time, Andi Harun admitted to looking for the names of the DPRD leaders who were present at the event, but did not find them. He also did not know whether the DPRD leadership was invited or not at the event.

"This meeting is very open," he said.

He emphasized that in his opening speech, he never mentioned the name of his son, who is a legislative candidate from the Gerindra Party. He only mentioned his son's name as an example of the younger generation who wanted to contribute to regional development.

"I have never ordered the head of the RT to support my son, I only invite them to support the younger generation who have the same vision and mission as me in building Samarinda," he said.

Andi Harun stated that he was ready to take the front responsibility regarding the video because he felt that he and his son were victims of political slander.

He hopes that Bawaslu can solve this case professionally and objectively.

Andi Harun also admitted that he had been questioned by Bawaslu for almost an hour. Bawaslu has asked him several questions which basically explain what he said.

"I hope Bawaslu can resolve this case professionally and objectively because I believe I am innocent and do not violate election law," he said.

Meanwhile, a member of the Samarinda City Bawaslu, Imam Sutanto, said that his party wanted to find out the connection between Mayor Andi Harun and the subject matter of the case.

"We are asking for information, later it will be considered to be related to the main material of this case to what extent. But if it is possible we will deepen it," he said.

Imam said that his party would also ask for information from sources suspected of informing the narrative in the video and news.

"Maybe it will also have something to do with the source of information or the source that informs the narrative in this regard," he said.

According to him, the Samarinda City Bawaslu is not waiting for reports from the public to follow up on this case.

"Yes, we are just progressive, we don't have to wait for the report," he said.

Imam explained that the mechanism for handling election violations by the Samarinda City Bawaslu after this summons, among others, Bawaslu will conduct a search for the initial information obtained.

Bawaslu will ask for information from various parties involved or related to this case. Furthermore, Bawaslu will determine the legal type of events that are suspected of containing elements of election violations.

"Whether the legal events that we suspect in the initial information on the video or news contain elements of election violations or not," he said.

One of the things that is considered is whether the head of the RT is included in people who are prohibited from participating in the campaign and whether the activities in the video are included in the campaign.

"If we use the Election Law approach, if it is not a campaign, it will not be a problem. However, we will investigate, there will still be a lot of information that will be collected from the case," he said.