Between Scandal and Power There is Ethics

JAKARTA - The affair of the scandal of infidelity, polygamy involving high-ranking state officials is actually not a new story in Indonesian history. In the past, this kind of behavior even caused a big commotion in the community. Remember the story of the corrupt minister in the 1960s who had six wives and 18 single girls? The life of these state officials is clearly far from the word of legal and moral norms.

The scandal of the Minister of Central Bank Affairs (Governor of Bank Indonesia) Jusuf Muda Dalam (JMD) with women was revealed in his trial held in late August to mid-September 1966. JMD was tried on charges of abuse of power and state money of Rp. 97 billion. In addition, he was also charged with illegal possession of firearms.

The case of JMD's trial became the headline in the newspaper at that time. Of all the accusations addressed to him, JMD was only willing to admit about the violation of morality, namely about his wife who was more than four. "Yes, my wife is officially four, but I am right to have married again in Jakarta and Sukabumi," said JMD quoted by Harian Kami, August 31, 1966.

The last two wives married by JMD, namely Djufriah, a former model who was married in mid-1965, and Sari Narulita, a film star who was married in February 1966. Previously, JMD had four wives, namely: Sulistiyani, Salamah, Jajah Fatmah, and Ida Jubaedah. Of all the women, JMD's relationship with Djufriah was very highlighted by the public at that time.

On September 8, 1966, the panel of judges sentenced Jusuf Muda Dalam to death. He was found guilty of corruption, embezzlement of state funds and violation of marriage laws for having more than four wives. All testimonies were considered to be burdensome.

September 1976, before facing the firing squad, Jusuf Muda Dalam died in prison due to tetanus. Later, in the era of President Soeharto (1968-1998), officials and civil servants were prohibited from having more than one wife or polygamy due to the presence of PP No. 10 in 1983 concerning Marriage and Divorce for Civil Servants

Now, throughout 2025 there are several records of scandals committed by high-ranking state officials. Starting from the Chairman of the General Election Commission (KPU) Hasyim Asy'ari who was fired because of a case of immorality.

In the trial of the Election Organizer Honor Council (DKPP), Hasyim was found guilty of sexual harassment against a woman with the initials CAT. The victim was a member of the Foreign Election Committee (PPLN) in The Hague, Netherlands.

March 2025, Ridwan Kamil was hit by an affair issue with a woman named Lisa Mariana who claimed to have a child from him. Ridwan Kamil strongly denied the allegations and called it an economic motive slander. He has reported the parties concerned for alleged defamation and applied for a DNA test to prove that the allegations were not true. Now the man who is commonly called RK is experiencing a divorce lawsuit from his wife Atalia Praratya.

December 2025, former Minister of Sports Dito Ariotedjo was rumored to have an affair with actress Davina Karamoy. Dito emphatically denied the issue and stated that his relationship with Davina was purely a professional matter. Dito confirmed that he was in the process of divorce with his wife, Niena Kirana, but he emphasized that the cause was not because of the presence of a third party.

Power and the Illusion of Infinity

In the world of politics and power, there is a classic theory from Lord Acton: "Power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely." This means that the higher a person's power, the greater the temptation to misuse authority. Based on the above story, abuse of authority is not only a matter of money, moral corruption is often a bonus.

According to Dacher Keltner (2003) in "The Power Paradox", people in power tend to experience "approach inhibition" - alias feeling free to break the norm because they feel immune to consequences. Unfortunately, those with great power often feel "above the law", including in matters of infidelity.

Research shows that power has a significant impact on the behavior of infidelity, both in men and women, but the differences in the rates of infidelity between the two are more complex than simply a gender factor.

Studies from Tilburg University and other research show that the relationship between power and infidelity applies equally to men and women (The Daily Mail, 2011).

Power increases a person's confidence in attracting a new partner, which is the main trigger for infidelity (Baer, 2015). Gender does not moderate this relationship; that is, men and women in positions of power have the same risk of infidelity (Lammers et al, 2011).

This research challenges the traditional assumption that men are more "susceptible" to infidelity than women, especially when both are in positions of equal power.

Blur and the need for filtering before sharing

The writings of Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel in their book 'Blur: How to Know the Truth in the Age of Information Floods' may be a reference to distinguish whether an information is false or true. The two authors open their writings with an interesting fact, that the old journalistic problem is more about lost income due to technology, and not the loss of the audience. And the biggest change from journalism today is that the portion of responsibility for knowing what is true and what is not, is now in our hands as individuals.

Here it is necessary to have a skeptical mindset (skeptical knowing) so as not to swallow the entire content of the raw news. The question then arises: is the quality of the content that journalism delivers still guaranteed? How do you check it?

This point of view invites us to learn how to hone the skills of verification and how to be skeptical, step by step. To make it easier, they classify the various types of news models, namely verification journalism, statement journalism, confirmation journalism, interest journalism, aggregation journalism, blogs and social media, as well as new hybrids.

Blur revealed the importance of verification in journalism, how journalistic statements or affirmations can undermine the essence of journalism. He also discussed how citizens should face the information tsunami? And how the press and citizens can work together in the era of information flooding? For the last question, Kovach and Rosenstiel mentioned eight functions in his book.

Authenticator. People need journalists to check the authenticity of information. They need journalists who can prove why an information should be trusted.

Sense maker (sense guide). The information that floods causes residents to have difficulty finding which is true, which is propaganda. This is where the role of journalists comes in, explaining whether information is reasonable or not.

Investigator. Kovach and Rosenstiel explain that in the information flood era, journalists must continue to function as investigators, uncovering a crime within the government. It is important to care for democracy.

Witness bearer (witness). Journalists must still be in a certain place to be an important witness to an event. In this function, journalists can work with residents. Residents can become citizen reporters, helping journalists in reporting an event.

Empowerer. In this function, there is a partnership between residents and journalists. Journalists empower residents in covering an event, while residents empower journalists with their experience and expertise. Furthermore, smart aggregator (smart aggregator). Residents need journalists who can provide quality information and reliable sources.

Forum organizer (forum provider). Residents need to be provided with a forum where they can monitor the voices of all parties so that they can decide for themselves which information can be trusted. Finally, journalists must be able to become role models for residents.

Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel's writing in this book asks you not to put your trust in the media, the government, let alone the producers of fake news. It is you who are now responsible for being your own 'editor' in the information onslaught.

"We become editors, gatekeepers, and news gatherers for ourselves," Kovach and Rosenstiel put it in language.

Having power does not mean having the right to everything. It takes the awareness of each, men and women: power must be accompanied by integrity, not for "jajan" indiscriminately.