TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The House of Representatives (DPR) Commission III member from the NasDem Party Faction, Taufik Basari, argued that it is a political scandal that President Joko Widodo or Jokowi has intelligence information on political parties. He said this could threaten democracy.

“We're talking about democratic countries, usually such things become political scandals in the public,” Taufik Basari, usually called Tobas, told Tempo on Monday, September 18, 2023.

He hoped that the president will be able to fulfill his constitutional mandate: to preserve democracy. “By not using the intelligence data for political purposes,” he said.

Tobas also said that the president is a statesman who should understand the limits of power. “So let’s wait for the president's attitude as a statesman, who does not interfere and maintains the independence of political parties,” he added.

He also hoped that the president would not be careless with the given power.

Jokowi boasts of having complete intelligence data on political parties

Speaking at the national meeting of Seknas Jokowi, a volunteers’ group supporting Jokowi, in Bogor on Saturday, Jokowi said he possessed comprehensive intelligence information regarding political parties, including their directions and strategies.

“I know the insides of political parties. I also understand the direction they are planning to take,” he said.

He made the statement with the hope that the public would not choose the wrong leader in the upcoming elections. He emphasized that the three presidential elections in 2024, 2029, and 2034 will determine whether Indonesia can become a developed nation. He also said that he drew the data from the intelligence departments of the military and the police, as well as the State Intelligence Agency (BIN).

“I received complete information from the intelligence; data figures and surveys are all there. I have everything, and this [information] only belongs to the President because [they] report directly to me,” Jokowi said.

Civil coalitions and political parties slam Jokowi

A group of civil coalitions for security sector reform condemned the state intelligence agencies for making political parties their objects and targets of surveillance. The group consisting of Imparsial, PBHI, Amnesty International, YLBHI, Kontras, Centra Initiative, Elsam, Walhi, ICW, HRWG, LBH Masyarakat, and Setara Institute considered this a threat to democracy.

“This is a serious problem in Indonesia's democratic life. It is not allowed and cannot be allowed in a democratic country,” said the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) chairman Julius Hebrew in his statement, on Saturday, September 16, 2023.

Julius said information collected by intelligence agencies should be related to national security issues, not political society, political parties, and civil society.

TIKA AYU

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