Open Session Of 'Joget DPR' Case, Observer: DPR No Longer Anti-Critics!

JAKARTA - The House of Representatives' Honorary Court (MKD) held an initial hearing regarding the ethical violations of five members of the House of Representatives whose party was deactivated in the aftermath of the 'DPR dance' case at the Annual Session until last August demonstration. The MKD trial was held openly to the public on Monday, November 3, yesterday.

Responding to the open session, political communication observer Silvanus Alvin assessed that the MKD's move showed transparency and made the DPR an institution that was not anti-criticism.

Alvin also praised the steps taken by the DPR MKD to invite parties involved for questioning. According to him, the MKD's steps as a means of completing the council in dealing with the member's ethical issues are in an effort to maintain the dignity of the DPR without eliminating important information that must be known by the public.

"I see that the DPR's move to open the MKD trial is a form of a new chapter in the political communication of the legislative body," said Silvanus Alvin in a statement received on Tuesday, November 4.

Alvin assessed that the openness shown by the DPR was very important because the public so far felt that they did not get enough space to understand how the ethics enforcement mechanism in the DPR was running.

"With an open trial, the public can assess the process for themselves, whether objective or not, transparent or not, and accountable or not," he said.

In addition, Alvin said that this transparency is also a form of strategic public communication. "By opening the ethics process directly, the DPR seeks to show that this institution is not anti-critical and is ready to be held accountable for its members' actions," said Alvin.

"Openness like this can help reduce public negative sentiment while strengthening the image of the DPR as an institution that wants to improve and be closer to the public," he continued.

Alvin also assessed that openness like yesterday's MKD trial needed to be maintained so as not to stop at symbols or ceremonies. Not only that, he reminded that the transparency of the DPR must be accompanied by consistency in enforcement of ethics.

"If the public sees a real follow-up, then the perception of Just an image will slowly turn into trust," said Alvin.

As is known, the MKD of the DPR RI held a witness examination session related to the case of five members of the DPR RI who were deactivated by their respective political parties, following the controversial action at the MPR Annual Session and the Joint Session of the DPR-DPD RI which was held on August 15, 2025. The examination session took place at the parliament complex, Jakarta, on Monday, November 3.

The chairman of the MKD DPR RI, Nazaruddin Dek Gam, said that this trial was a preliminary examination to find a bright spot from a series of events that occurred between August 15 and September 3, 2025.

In an effort to investigate this case, the MKD presented a number of important witnesses, including the Deputy for the Trial of the Secretariat General of the DPR RI Suprihartini, the Coordinator of the Defense University Orchestra (IDU) Lt. Col. Suwarko, a criminologist Prof. Dr. Adrianus Eliasta, legal expert Dr. Satya Arinanto, sociologist Trubus Rahardiansyah, behavioral analyst Gusti Aju Dewi, and deputy Parliamentary Journalist Coordinator Erwin Siregar. The examination was carried out to investigate whether there was a serious ethical violation that tarnished the institutional image of the DPR RI.

The five members of the Indonesian House of Representatives who were deactivated were Deputy Chairperson of the Indonesian House of Representatives from the Golkar faction, Adies Kadir, NasDem Faction Member Ahmad Sahroni and Nafa Urbach, and PAN faction member Eko Hendro Purnomo alias Eko Patrio and Surya Ula Kuya.

The five of them were suspected of committing ethical violations because they danced during the DPR Annual Session to comments alluding to public justice as members of the DPR, which led to a chaotic demonstration in August 2025. Even this problem led to the looting of Sahroni and Uya Kuya's houses.

The results of the MKD examination will be the basis for determining further ethical sanctions, including the possibility of permanent dismissal if proven to have committed a serious violation.