Fahri Hamzah accompanies Jokowi to inaugurate foundry in NTB, after giving red card to Joko Widodo government

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – President Joko Widodo or Jokowi accompanied by former DPR RI Vice President Fahri Hamzah during a working visit to West Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara on Monday, September 23, 2024.

Deputy for Protocol, Press and Media at the Presidential Secretariat, Yusuf Permana, said that Fahri Hamzah was present because he is from the country and received an invitation from the company that owns the foundry inaugurated by President Jokowi.

“He (Fahri Hamzah) is a local man and was also invited by PT Amman Smelter,” Yusuf said in a short message received in Jakarta on Monday.

Yusuf said that when Fahri Hamzah was the chairman of the DPR, Fahri also strongly encouraged the realization of the downstream program.

Jokowi revealed that he had invited politician Fahri Hamzah to the PT Amman Mineral Internasional smelter. “Mr. Fahri Hamzah is from Sumbawa. “Because the area is in Sumbawa, I invited him earlier,” Jokowi said after inaugurating the PT Freeport Indonesia smelter in Gresik, East Java, Monday, September 23, quoted from a recording received by Tempo.

In a separate statement, Deputy for Protocol and Media at the Presidential Secretariat Yusuf Permana said Jokowi wanted to seek input from local figures regarding regional development.

Fahri Hamzah's profile

Fahri Hamzah, SE, was born on 10 November 1971 in West Nusa Tenggara and is an Indonesian politician. He served as Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR) for the period 2014-2019.

According to emedia.dpr.go.id, Fahri began his higher education at the Faculty of Agriculture at Mataram University, but later joined the Faculty of Economics at the University of Indonesia (UI) in 1992. At UI, he was active in student activism, including becoming the general chairman of the Islamic Studies Forum and chairman of the research department of the university's student senate.

During the 1998 Reform period, Fahri played a role in the creation of the Indonesian Muslim Student Action Unit (KAMMI) and led the organization. With KAMMI, he helped organize the movement against the New Order regime and continued to support BJ Habibie after Soeharto's fall.

Fahri was later elected as an expert in the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) during the period 1999-2002 and participated in discussions on amendments to the 1945 Constitution. In the 2004 elections, he was elected as a member of the DPR from the West Nusa Tenggara constituency.

Fahri Hamzah was a member of Commission III, which oversaw legal and human rights issues, and Commission VII, which focused on national energy sovereignty. He criticized the dominance of foreign companies in upstream oil and gas management, which he saw as a drain on Indonesia's natural resources.

Apart from this, Fahri was also a member of the Honorary Council of the DPR and the National Financial Accountability Agency (BAKN). At BAKN, he paid great attention to the reports on the results of the BPK audit, emphasizing the importance of proper follow-up of these reports.

A collection of Fahri Hamzah's criticisms of Jokowi

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1. Call the Jokowi-Jusuf Kalla government weak and stupid

While serving as Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Fahri Hamzah revealed that the Joko Widodo-Jusuf Kalla government had many weaknesses. He expressed this view when meeting with students who were holding a demonstration to commemorate one year of the Jokowi-JK government in front of the DPR building.

“17 years ago, I was like you. “The current government is not as cruel as before, but the current government is weak, even stupid,” Fahri told protesters on Tuesday, October 20, 2015.

2. Red card for Jokowi

In February 2018, the President of the Student Office took measures University of Indonesia (BEM UI), Zaadit Taqwa, who gave a yellow card to President Jokowi, is in the spotlight. Fahri considered the yellow card as a signal to alert the government.

“It just so happened that I had a red card, so I issued a red card,” Fahri said after the opening of the national deliberation of the Indonesian Muslim Student Action Union (KAKAMMI) alumni family at the Royal Kuningan Hotel on Saturday, February 3, 2018. Fahri showed the red card he had.

3. The material criterion for the position of vice president is called Jokowi's interests

Fahri also believes that Jokowi has an interest in the trial over the vice president's term in order to maintain the stability of the coalition of parties supporting him. According to Fahri, if Jokowi does not choose Jusuf Kalla (JK) as his vice presidential candidate, there is a possibility of a split within the coalition of parties.

“So I believe that the initiative to encourage Pak JK is Pak Jokowi,” said Fahri Hamzah at the Jakarta Parliament Complex on Wednesday, July 25, 2018. “Pak JK was forced because Jokowi did not know who to look for, because if it was someone else who would be difficult to agree with, 'Mr. JK just agrees.'”

CONSCIOUSNESS SUKMA KANTHI | DANIEL A. FAJRI | FRISKI RIANA

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