DPR Accepts Amnesty Saiful Mahdi, Mahfud MD: This Is Really Progressive

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD/PHOTO VIA ANTARA

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam) Mahfud MD appreciated the DPR for granting amnesty to a lecturer at Syiah Kuala University (Unsyiah) Banda Aceh, Saiful Mahdi.

According to him, the DPR has implemented progressive laws and procedures. Moreover, the President's letter regarding the granting of Saiful's amnesty was only sent last week.

"The DPR has implemented progressive laws and procedures. If it goes through the usual procedures that are too normative, of course, this President's letter still has to be discussed first in the Bamus and after Bamus agrees to have an agenda, it will be brought to a plenary session," Mahfud said in his statement to reporters, Thursday, 7 October.

"In an important situation concerning the fate of a person like this, courage is needed to make a progressive acceleration," added the former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court (MK).

After the granting of this amnesty has been granted, the government will then wait for an official letter from the DPR RI. This is necessary to carry out the next process, namely the issuance of a letter granting amnesty.

"The government will wait for an official letter from the DPR to include it in a letter granting amnesty. I congratulate Saiful Mahdi's family," he said.

As previously reported, the DPR approved the granting of amnesty for the convict of the Electronic Information and Transaction Law (UU ITE) who is also a lecturer at the Syiah Kuala University (Unsyiah) Banda Aceh, Saiful Mahdi. The pardon was proposed by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).

"Can we agree to the amnesty request as a suppression (presidential letter)?" said Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Muhaimin Iskandar, while chairing the Plenary Meeting for the Closing of Session I Year 2021-2022 at the DPR Building, Thursday, October 7.

All members of the DPR who attended the Plenary Meeting agreed with the granting of the amnesty.

An amnesty for Saiful Mahdi was proposed through Suppres Number 46/Pres/09/2021 dated September 29, 2021. The Suppres explained that Saiful was found guilty of defamation as stipulated in Law Number 19 of 2016 concerning Information and Electronic Transactions (UU ITE).

The case that ensnared Saiful stems from his criticism of the CPNS acceptance process at the Faculty of Engineering in March 2019. Through the WhatsApp group, Saiful wrote this.

"Innalillahiwainnailaihirajiun. Got the sad news of the death of common sense in the ranks of FT Unsyiah's leadership during the civil servant test yesterday. Evidence of technical determinism is very easy to corrupt?"

Saiful said that the participant files for lecturers to enter CPNS did not meet the requirements but were passed by the campus. For this case, he was sentenced to 3 months in prison and a fine of Rp. 100 million, a subsidiary of one month's imprisonment for that case. Saiful then filed an appeal but was rejected by the High Court.