TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – In recent weeks, President Joko Widodo or Jokowi has conducted two press statements at the Presidential Office Complex, Jakarta, in the form of “doorstop interviews”. However, these interviews were allegedly staged since no actual journalists were involved.
The first statement, on August 21, 2024, addressed the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the regional head candidacy threshold and age requirements. The second statement, on August 27, 2024, concerned the demonstration against the ratification of the Regional Election Law revision.
In both videos shared on the Presidential Secretariat’s YouTube channel, only a few individuals were holding recording devices, with no television station microphones or follow-up questions from journalists.
Additionally, in the August 27 video, voices could be heard as if journalists were greeting the President, but they were actually still in the press room. The Secretariat Press Bureau did not inform the journalists about the interviews, which were released unexpectedly after the journalists were about to leave.
Netizens and activists criticized these staged interviews, questioning their authenticity. Puthut Eko Arianto, a writer who graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy at Gadjah Mada University (UGM), commented on social media X (formerly Twitter) that the interviews seemed too scripted and artificial.
Dhandy Laksono, co-founder of Watchdoc & Koperasi Indonesia Baru, also satirized the “doorstop interview” and praised the camera person’s skills.
Jokowi Often Avoids Journalists During Sensitive Time
The staged interviews occurred during a sensitive time, following the mass demonstration against the Regional Election Law revision in multiple cities. The demonstrators opposed the revision, which could have annulled the Constitutional Court’s decision and allowed Kaesang Pangarep, Jokowi’s youngest son, to run in the regional head elections.
The government and the House of Representatives (DPR) ultimately failed to ratify the bill, and Jokowi adhered to the Constitutional Court’s decision.
Last week, the state head also appeared to avoid journalists. For example, when attending the Nasdem Party Congress in Jakarta, he ignored journalists who were blocked by party security personnel.
Last year, journalists were denied access to cover press statements and interview Jokowi at Soekarno-Hatta Airport on Monday morning, October 16, 2023. The incident occurred as the president and First Lady Iriana were preparing to depart for China and Saudi Arabia.
The media crew sought to inquire about the Constitutional Court’s decision regarding the lawsuit challenging the age limit for candidates in the Election Law No. 7 of 2017. This decision had legalized Jokowi’s oldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as Prabowo Subianto’s vice presidential candidate in the February 2024 election, despite being under the required age at the time.
Meanwhile, the Presidential Secretariat’s Deputy for Protocol and Media, Yusuf Permana, denied any restrictions on media access at the Nasdem Congress. “There shouldn’t be [any restrictions],” he told Tempo on Sunday, August 25, 2024.
Yusuf has not yet responded to Tempo’s questions about the staged interviews on Thursday evening, August 29, 2024.
DANIEL A. FAJRI
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