Bonjowi Values KIP Ruling on Jokowi's Diploma as Public Victory
The Bonjowi (Bongkar Ijazah Jokowi / Expose Jokowi’s Diploma) group has welcomed the Central Information Commission (KIP) ruling that partially granted their information dispute request regarding the academic documents of Indonesia’s seventh President Joko Widodo held by Gadjah Mada University (UGM). The petitioners view this ruling as an important step towards disclosing information that has long been considered restricted.
One of the Bonjowi petitioners, Herman, stated that they appreciated the panel’s decision as it promotes transparency of documents that have long been the subject of public controversy.
“On behalf of Bonjowi, I express our gratitude to all parties. This is a public victory, because what has long been mysterious now has a panel order for UGM to open up,” Herman said after the ruling session on Tuesday (10 March).
According to Herman, the ruling requires UGM to submit several documents previously requested by the petitioners, except for documents that are genuinely not within the university’s possession.
“All the documents mentioned are obligated to be submitted, except those that genuinely do not exist or are not in their possession,” he stated.
He noted there remain several unanswered questions, including the whereabouts of diploma legalisation documents. Herman noted that UGM stated during proceedings that it does not possess documentation related to that legalisation process.
“To this day it remains a mystery whether there was genuinely a diploma that was ever legalised. UGM states it is not in their possession,” he said.
Additionally, Herman highlighted the matter of Real Work Lecture (KKN) report documents, which UGM claimed were not in its possession. He argued the university should provide a written explanation if the documents are genuinely unavailable.
“UGM should make a written statement if the document genuinely does not exist, including explaining the regulations that applied when Jokowi was studying at that time,” Herman said.
Another petitioner from Bonjowi, Lukas Luwarso, viewed the KIP ruling as a victory for the principle of information transparency and scientific ethics in the academic world.
“This KIP ruling is a victory for all of us because it upholds scientific integrity,” Lukas said.
He emphasised that the issue they raised was not merely political controversy, but rather an effort to ensure transparency of academic documents relating to public officials.
“This concerns a president’s diploma. There are very few presidents in Indonesia, so documents like this should be open to ensure scientific integrity and accountability,” he said.
Lukas also argued that the Information and Documentation Management Officer (PPID) should not stop at stating that documents are unavailable. According to him, public bodies remain obligated to trace the whereabouts of documents requested by the public.
“The PPID cannot simply say they do not have it and stop there. They must make efforts to find documents related to important information such as this,” Lukas said.
Furthermore, he emphasised that the information transparency dispute has not yet fully concluded. Bonjowi is still awaiting next steps regarding documents currently under police investigation.
“We have already won the information dispute with the Electoral Commission and UGM. Now we await the next process with the police to open those documents,” he concluded.