Asking for OCCRP's Claims to Be Proven, Jokowi Has No Understanding of Corruption

The JAKARTA Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) suddenly became a concern in Indonesia after including the seventh Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) in the list of nominees for the 2024 organized crime and corruption figures. Jokowi has called it slander and framing of evil that is not accompanied by evidence.

This news clearly shocked the Indonesian people. Additionally, OCCRP issued this announcement shortly after Jokowi completed his term as two-term president.

Jokowi is one of five other finalists selected this year. The former mayor of Solo rubs shoulders with four other personalities, namely Kenyan President William Ruto, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Hasina and Indian businessman Gautam Adani.

OCCRP leader and co-founder Drew Sullivan said corrupt state leaders need to be outed because they are considered human rights abusers (HAM). He said a corrupt government would cause conflict because the country would become unstable.

Meanwhile, Jokowi was tried for failing to understand the meaning of corruption, after demanding proof of the corruption he was accused of.

OCCRP is a global investigative media network based in Amsterdam with staff on six continents. The organization was founded in 2006 and specializes in organized crime and corruption.

OCCRP published its information in local media and in English and Russian on its website. OCCRP cooperates and supports more than 50 independent media outlets on six continents, including Europe, Africa and Central Asia. In 2017, NGO Advisor ranked them 69th globally on the annual list of the top 500 non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Jokowi, along with four other figures, were finalists based on the most votes from readers and journalists worldwide.

“We're asking readers, journalists, Staff of the Year judges and other parts of the OCCRP global network to (vote) on nominations. The finalists who received the most votes this year are: Kenyan President William Ruto, former Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian entrepreneur Gautam Adani,” the OCCRP report said.

Even though former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was listed as an organized crime and corruption figure this year, ORCCP stressed that this does not mean that five other nominations have fewer crimes than Al-Assad .

The inclusion of Jokowi's name in the nomination of the most corrupt person in 2024 has certainly caused a stir among the Indonesian people. The Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), led by Jokowi's youngest son Kaesang Pangarep, said the OCCRP's release appeared to reflect the voices of the grief rows.

“It is the voice of those who are hurting, those who have not been able to recover from their defeat in the presidential election. There is a digital footprint that OCCRP is opening to the public to name injured people and which mobilizes votes”, declared the vice-president of the PSI. DPP Andy Budiman in a written statement.

Furthermore, Andy felt that, from a methodological point of view, the publication could not be justified.

“It’s clearly different from scientific surveys with very careful sampling to avoid bias,” said the former journalist.

Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Secretary General Bayu Wardhana said foreign media reports and OCCRP's publication cannot be considered the voice of sorrow. Because according to Bayu, the media and journalists have no direct interest in Indonesia.

Moreover, they are also not part of the elites trying to take power from the government. “In fact, because they have no interests, they can be said to be relatively independent in their activities. [OCCRP] evaluation,” Bayu explained.

“The response is not a skill of the messenger (killing or attacking the media), but it is a criticism that must be responded to with an evaluation,” he added.

Bayu added that this should be a good contribution for President Prabowo to be careful because the OCCRP has been recalled.

Meanwhile, criminal law observer Masykur Isnan pointed out that corruption has a broad meaning, which is not limited to giving and receiving money for a shameful or illegal act. Among them is the use of authority and power that does not serve the public interest.

“Whether Jokowi does this or not, then the main reference is the public's sense of justice, perhaps this is a barometer of public voices and attention from the international community,” Isnan said when he was contacted by VOI.

The main picture and Jokowi's important notes focus on the destruction of democracy and the decline of the spirit of naked reform in place towards the end of the Jokowi era, he added.

Regarding Jokowi, who seems to be actively evading regarding recent biased news, after being named one of the figures of corruption in 2024, Isnan said that the former governor of DKI Jakarta should not have been too resistant.

Jokowi's attitude, which is like this, seems to be slandered and there is a potential for political content, it is feared that it will reinforce negative feelings of the public and the international community.

“The request for proof of this freedom of opinion is very inappropriate, perhaps we could choose a more strategic one, for example, what were Jokowi's successes during his mandate?” he concluded.

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