TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Public policy expert Trubus Rahadiansyah on Monday questioned the reason behind the decision of the State Secretariat announcing news about President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s attendance in the wedding reception of local celebrity Aurel Hermansyah, who is popularly known as Atta Halilintar.

He said there was no urgency to report the President’s attendance at the private wedding, and that the State Secretariat had acted unethically as the wedding was clearly not a public affair.

“What the President did is not the problem. The problem is that the State Secretariat uploaded it. That is not a state affair,” said Trubus to Tempo on Monday, April 5.

Trubus Rahadiansyah said the President’s attendance was not an issue as long as the wedding reception was conducted under strict health protocols overseen by the PPKM social restriction that had been imposed by the government to curb the spread of COVID-19.

“If it turned out to have too many guests then the one responsible was the individual who invited [the President],” he said.

Trubus tried to analyze why President Jokowi’s attendance in the wedding had garnered wide public criticism and believed it was due to alleged political motivations and the influence Atta Halilintar had among the young generation.

“He has major influence among millennials. Many political parties are fighting for it. That is why [the wedding] also saw Defense Minister Prabowo and MPR chairman Bambang Soesatyo,” Trubus analyzed.

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EGI ADYATAMA