Criticized By Ethics By Academics In The Petition Of Bulaksumur, This Is Jokowi's Response

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) (Doc: State Secretariat)

JAKARTA - Indonesian President Joko Widodo emphasized the petition from several academics from a number of universities related to his government as a right of opinion and democracy.

"Yes, it is the right of democracy, everyone can speak, have opinions, please," said the President briefly after attending the opening of the XVI GP Ansor Congress at Tanjung Priok Port, Jakarta, Friday.

Previously, several academics from a number of universities such as Gadjah Mada University alumni (UGM) and the academic community of the Islamic University of Indonesia (UII) submitted a petition in the form of criticism of the Jokowi government.

They alluded to ethics and statesmanship in their petition.

In a democratic country, said Presidential Special Staff Coordinator Ari Dwipayana in a short message received in Jakarta, Friday, the freedom to express opinions, calls, petitions, and criticism must be respected.

"Mr. President has also emphasized that freedom of speech is the right of democracy. Criticism is a vitamin to continue to make improvements to the quality of democracy in our country," said Ari.

Ari said that differences of opinion, different perspectives, differences in political choices are very natural in democracy, especially in the political year, ahead of the election, opinion fights must occur.

"Recently, it seems that there have been efforts to deliberately orchestrate certain political narratives for electoral purposes. Such partisan political strategies are also legitimate in the political contestation space. However, it is better to contest politics, including opinion fights, built in a culture of substantive dialogue and healthy debate," said Ari Dwipayana.

Ari emphasized that President Widodo remains committed to implementing democratic principles in accordance with the values of Pancasila and the corridor of the constitution.