7 PPLN Kuala Lumpur Sued 6 Months In Prison

The trial of the alleged falsification of voter data by seven inactive members of PPLN Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the Central Jakarta District Court, Jakarta, Tuesday (19/3/2024) night. (ANTARA/Fath Putra Mulya)

JAKARTA - Seven members of the Kuala Lumpur Foreign Election Committee (PPLN) were sentenced to 6 months in prison and a fine of Rp. 10 million, subsidiary to imprisonment for 3 months in cases of alleged data falsification and list of voters for the 2024 General Election in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The defendants were one to six sentenced to 6 months in prison, provided that they did not need to be detained if they did not repeat their actions or committed other crimes for one year after the decision had permanent legal force or inkrah.

"Sentenced the defendants 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 to imprisonment for 6 months each with the condition that it does not need to be served if the person concerned can be under probation for one year since the inkrah decision does not repeat his actions or does not commit other criminal acts," said the Public Prosecutor (JPU) of the Attorney General's Office at the Central Jakarta District Court, Jakarta, as reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, March 19.

The names of the defendants one to six were the Chairman of PPLN Kuala Lumpur Umar Faruk; PPLN Member Kuala Lumpur Finance Division Tita Octavia Cahya Rahayu; and PPLN Member Kuala Lumpur Data and Information Division Dicky Saputra.

Then, Member of PPLN Kuala Lumpur, Aprijon HR Division, Member of PPLN Kuala Lumpur, Puji Sumarsono Socialization Division; and Member of PPLN Kuala Lumpur, Technical Division of Election Implementation A. Khalil.

Meanwhile, specifically for the defendant seven, namely PPLN member Kuala Lumpur, Masduki Logistics Division, Khamdan Muchamad, was sentenced to 6 months in prison with an order to detain the detention center.

"Especially for the seven defendants, Masduki, imprisonment for 6 months is reduced by the detention period that has been served by the seven defendants with orders to be detained by detention centers," said the prosecutor.

The prosecutor assessed that the seven defendants were legally and convincingly proven to have committed the crime charged in the first indictment, namely intentionally committing acts against the law of falsifying data and lists of voters, either ordering, committing, or participating in the act.

"As regulated and threatened with crime in Article 544 of Law No. 7 of 2017 concerning General Election in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) of the 1st Criminal Code," said the prosecutor.

The aggravating things that the prosecutor considered in dropping the charges were that the defendants as election organizers did not carry out their duties in accordance with applicable regulations.

Especially for Masduki, it is considered that he has abused his authority in recruiting the Kuala Lumpur Foreign Voter Data Update Officer (Panterih), so that there is a fictitious takeover which causes the implementation of matching voter data to not be maximized.

"And the defendant seven (Masduki) did not fulfill the investigator's summons and was designated as a DPO," added the prosecutor.

On the other hand, mitigating factors are the result of a series of crimes committed by the defendants, ranging from determining the Permanent Voter List (DPT) to voting, which has been disallowed and declared invalid by the Indonesian KPU on the recommendation of the Indonesian Bawaslu and re-voting.

Another mitigating factor is that the defendants have been disabled as chairman or members of PPLN Kuala Lumpur, the defendants except for the defendant Masduki are considered cooperative and not convoluted.

"Most of the defendants are students or female students who are studying doctoral degrees in Malaysia. The defendants except for defendants two and defendants three have family responsibilities, wives and children," added the prosecutor.

In this case, seven non-active members of PPLN Kuala Lumpur were charged with falsifying data and lists of foreign voters for the 2024 General Election in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The prosecutors believed the defendants entered incorrect and invalid data because it did not match the results of the deed into the Temporary Voter Data (DPS), became a DPS Results Improvement (DPSHP), and was later determined to be a DPT.

The defendants are also said to have moved the list of voters for the Voting Place (TPS) method to the Mobile Voice Box (KSK) and Post methods in data conditions and unknown or incomplete voter addresses.