Andi Widjajanto Denies Involvement in Protest: I Was Eating at Bundaran HI

Senior PDIP cadre Andi Widjajanto has finally spoken out regarding accusations that he took part in a demonstration on the streets around Bundaran HI, Jakarta, on Friday (12/6). The former Governor of the National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas) denied the allegations. Andi asserted that he was not involved in any protest action. “Yes, I was not involved in the demo,” Andi said when met after attending a book review event for Mahfud MD at the Islamic University of Indonesia (UII), Sleman, Yogyakarta, on Monday (6/7) afternoon. According to Andi, his presence at the location was nothing more than a coincidence. He claimed he was having lunch at the time and was startled to hear the noise of the protesters reaching Bundaran HI. “I was only visiting the students because I was having lunch and heard the horns, then I was surprised they could break through to Bundaran HI, normally they cannot get through,” he claimed. “That was it, I did not do anything to interact with them before or after that. (My presence) was as someone who was curious why the demo broke through to Bundaran HI,” he continued. For Andi, his presence at that time also could not be interpreted as a stance representing his party. “No, no, there was no interaction between me and them. None at all,” he concluded. PDIP received criticism from coalition political parties after Andi Widjajanto was seen during the student action around Bundaran HI, Jakarta, on Friday (12/6). The jibes regarding PDIP’s stance were previously directed by a number of government coalition party elites, such as PKB and Golkar. PKB Deputy Chairman Jazilul Fawaid reminded PDIP to be firm, not ambiguous, about its position in the government. Meanwhile, Golkar Party Secretary-General Muhammad Sarmuji stated that his party respects PDIP’s political stance, which some of its senior figures describe as a balancing force. However, Sarmuji admitted he did not understand the meaning of that position. He said he would not interfere and would let the public judge. The PDIP Central Executive Board (DPP) has stressed that it was not involved in and did not organise any parties in the demonstrations in several regions, including the one at Bundaran HI by students and the University of Indonesia Student Executive Board (BEM UI). PDIP DPP Chairman Said Abdullah stated that the party’s stance was an instruction from Chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri. Most recently, PDIP DPP Chair Puan Maharani briefly responded to various criticisms of PDIP’s political stance regarding the wave of student protests. After chairing a DPR Plenary Session with the Deputy Speaker from PKB, Puan denied that PDIP is being ambiguous about its position in the government. She stressed that PDIP has had a clear political stance from the start. “No, we are clear,” she said briefly at the parliamentary complex on Thursday (2/7). Puan did not elaborate further on the clear stance she meant.