Don't Be Gaduh, Causa Primanya Ijazah

A photo by Luthfiah VOI

JAKARTA There is no rain, no wind, even the age of the reigns of Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka has not touched the number of one year, suddenly the 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo (Jokowi) expressed support so that Prabowo and Gibran will be back in pairs in the upcoming 2029 presidential election.

It was the General Chairperson of the Vice President Jokowi Volunteers (Bara JP), Willem Frans Ansanay, who revealed that he had received a mandate from Jokowi to support the two-term Prabowo-Gibran pair. This was conveyed at the inauguration of the DPP Bara JP board for the 2025-2030 period at the Joang 45 Museum Complex, Menteng, Jakarta, last Saturday, September 13.

This motive for support immediately received the spotlight of the chairman of the PDI-P DPP, Andreas Hugo Pareira, who read that Jokowi had a tactic, behind directions to volunteers to guard Prabowo-Gibran for two periods.

Prabowo Subianto and Donald Trump met at the Gaza Peace Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, Monday, October 13. (Instagram @presidenrepublicindonesia)

"It's okay"

"It's okay"

"It's okay"

"It's okay"

Because Jokowi was too early to talk about two terms, even though the Prabowo-Gibran government has not even been one year. This is a moment too fast, yes. We need to pay attention to what is the background, so Mr. Jokowi insists on conveying it too quickly, "said Andreas.

He considered that Jokowi was preparing a rescue mechanism, considering that until now the former governor of Jakarta was being plagued by allegations of fake diplomas. Likewise with Jokowi's eldest son, Gibran, who also faced the same polemic.

Gibran was sued on a civil basis at the Central Jakarta District Court because the high school-level diploma used for his candidacy in the 2024 presidential election was considered problematic. "Yes, we'll see what the current situation is, yes, the attack on Pak Jokowi himself regarding diplomas, then Gibran was finally questioned about his diploma. So what is the mechanism, escape mechanism, yes, rescue mechanism," added Andreas.

According to him, the analysis was based on his experience during the 2024 presidential election, how the constitutional rules could change ahead of the candidacy, accommodating Gibran to become vice president under the age of 40.

"This means that this is an analysis, yes, our analysis of what he said, forcing this fast, of course there is a background. We know that Pak Jokowi is very clever in politics with our experience in the past period. Then on the way now, how Pak Jokowi plays all the instruments, to get to his son he is vice president," Andreas explained.

Jokowi himself chose to be relaxed towards this accusation. The former mayor of Solo said there was no relationship between support for Prabowo-Gibran for two terms with a fake diploma case. What is the connection? It has nothing to do with the certificate of two terms of relationship," he said.

He emphasized that the support was purely continuing the Prabowo-Gibran government program. In addition, this attitude has been conveyed from the start to the volunteers. "That's what I said from the start to the volunteer meeting, someone asked and I answered that we fully support Pak Prabowo's government for two terms. If someone doesn't agree, that's okay. It's called democracy," said Jokowi.

Posita And Causa Prima

The prime causa or often typed as a 'primary causa' is a Latin phrase meaning "first cause" or "major cause". This concept comes from the philosophy ofTEN, which uses the Greek term ho o kinoumenon kinei (which moves undriven) to describe similar ideas. In concise, the prime causa is the cause without cause, which is the origin of everything that does not depend on anything else for its existence. This concept is used in various fields, including philosophy and theology.

The commotion in the public space triggered by the polemic of Jokowi and Gibran's diploma led an advocat named Komardin to file a lawsuit or judicial review of Article 17 letter g, Article 17 letter h number 5, and Article 18 paragraph 2 letter a of Law Number 14 of 2008 concerning Public Information Disclosure (UU KIP). The lawsuit with case number 174/PUU-XXIII/2025 was filed so that diploma documents and the thesis of an official and former official were not included in the exception of personal information and must be accessed publicly.

"Declaring Law Number 14 of 2008 concerning Public Information Disclosure Article 17 letter g which reads, Public Information which if disclosed can reveal the contents of an authentic deed that is private and of a person's will or will is excluded information, but a thesis, diploma, an official, a former state official and/or everything that has been paid using state money does not include documents that are excluded and can be requested if necessary by the public," said Komardin in a preliminary hearing at the Constitutional Court, Friday, October 10.

He said, one of the reasons this lawsuit was filed was because the issue of the diplomas of these officials often made noise in the condition of the community. "There was noise everywhere that caused our efforts to be difficult. Yes, there were frequent demonstrations, then there was debate, and so on," he added.

In his post, Komardin also touched on the issue of Joko Widodo's diploma, which according to him was constrained by Gadjah Mada University, which was reluctant to provide information and evidence so that conditions became more noisy. "Therefore, the applicant filed a lawsuit against UGM at the Sleman District Court with the aim of preventing the petitioner's demands from continuing," he said.

Meanwhile, a 'progressive' step was taken by a public policy observer, Bonatua Silalahi, by showing a copy of Jokowi's diploma that had been legalized or legalized at the DKI Jakarta General Election Commission (KPU), Monday, October 13. The certificate shown by Bonatura is the same as that that that has been circulating so far on social media.

Bonatua visited the DKI Jakarta KPU to take a copy of Jokowi's diploma that had been legalized or legalized. The DKI Jakarta KPU has a copy of the diploma because Jokowi registered as Governor of DKI Jakarta in the 2012 Jakarta Pilkada. One of the requirements for registration as a regional head is to attach a copy of the diploma. Bonatora arrived at the DKI Jakarta KPU at 10.00 WIB. He went straight to the Public Information Service Desk room and was served by two DKI Jakarta KPU employees.

After giving an explanation for the application to ask for the file, DKI Jakarta KPU employees then gave a copy of the diploma requested by Bonatua. Social media activist Tifauzia Tyassuma or Doctor Tifa was also present at the DKI Jakarta KPU to ask for a copy of Jokowi's diploma.

Previously, Bonatua had received a copy of Jokowi's diploma through the Indonesian KPU, Thursday, October 2. At that time, telematics expert Roy Suryo accompanied Bonatua to receive a diploma copy from the Indonesian KPU. Despite having received a diploma from the Indonesian KPU, Bonatua's goal was to take a diploma copy to the DKI Jakarta KPU to see the consistency of diplomas every year.

According to him, there will be differences in legality every year. In theory, copies of the legalized diploma are different on every date and name of the legalizing official. Request for a copy of the diploma to the DKI Jakarta KPU also relates to my petition regarding the trial of public information disputes at the Central Information Commission (KIP) regarding the 2014 & 2019 diploma copy archive which should be kept by ANRI according to the order of the Archives Law," explained Bonatua.

Criminal Sanctions And UGM Betting

So, what happens if Jokowi's diploma is proven to be fake? Constitutional law expert from Mulawarman University, Herdiansyah Hamzah revealed that Jokowi could be criminally punished if he was proven to have used a fake diploma for the purpose of nominating a president. Article 93 of Law Number 12 of 2012 concerning Higher Education states that anyone without the right to use academic degrees, vocational titles, and/or professional titles may be subject to criminal sanctions.

In Article 69 of Law Number 20 of 2003 concerning the National Education System, it is also stated that anyone who uses a fake diploma shall be sentenced to a maximum imprisonment of five years and/or a maximum fine of Rp. 500 million. ," he continued.

On the other hand, even though his diploma was fake, it did not have a significant impact on the legitimacy of the rules signed by Jokowi during his tenure as president. This is because the minimum requirement for education to become president stated in Law Number 7 of 2017 concerning Elections (UU Elections) is high school. "So if it is proven that Jokowi's bachelor's diploma is fake, it does not necessarily make all decisions in his capacity as president to be canceled," said Herdiansyah.

At most, he said, Jokowi was subject to social sanctions from the public, where the public would not believe in the policies made by Jokowi. In fact, it is possible that there will be community groups who try to sue Jokowi's policies during his tenure if they feel aggrieved.

"So it can't just be because the diploma is fake then all Jokowi's decisions are considered null and void. It remains legal as a legal decision. Well, this implication is only a matter of legitimacy," said Herdiansyah.

Meanwhile, the Director of the Center for Constitutional, Democracy and Community Studies (SIDEKA) UIN Samarinda, Suwardi Sagama, said that it was not only Jokowi who could be convicted if his diploma was proven to be fake, but the parties involved in the alleged forgery of diplomas could also be prosecuted.

"Therefore, it is also necessary to investigate who is involved in the forgery of diplomas because it injures academic values. The public will see it as a form of teaching that there is no need to go to college or it doesn't matter if the college is not finished because it is just a matter of making a fake diploma," he said.

According to him, educational institutions, especially UGM, can also get negative excesses if the diploma used by Jokowi is proven to be fake. Public trust in UGM and educational institutions can decline. Moreover, UGM has stated that the diploma is true," concluded Suwardi.