TVMU: Death of Employee Not Connected to Esemka Project

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The death of Abdullah Fithri Setiawan (43) or Dufi who was found inside a blue plastic oil drum has sparked misleading and unconfirmed information, suggesting that his death was linked to an alleged reporting on the Esemka national car project. 

Management at TV Muhammadiyah (TVMU), where Dufi worked during his life, issued an announcement to denounce the public’s suspicions before the hoax spreads even wilder. 

TVMU Sales Manager Maheso told Tempo on Tuesday; “Many people sent me messages about Dufi and his reporting of the Esemka project. No TVMU employee was assigned to such project, including the late Dufi,” he said. 

Maheso suspects that many people are trying to take advantage of Dufi’s death and twisting it as a political instrument in the wake of the 2019 presidential election. He stated that one message he received had exploited the man’s death by blatantly connected Dufi’s death to the Esemka car project. 

He said that TVMU board of directors decided to issue an official announcement to specifically denounce the hoax that was contained in a list of ten confirmations. 

As the list suggests, firstly, TVMU had never assigned any of its journalists to investigate the Esemka car project. Secondly, TVMU underlined the fact that Dufi was never assigned to do journalistic reporting and that his position prior to his death was as a sales marketer and not a journalist.  

MIQDARULLAH BURHAN | ZW