Differences in Jokowi's Diploma from PDIP and KPU Versions Revealed by Michael Sinaga

The polemic surrounding the undergraduate diploma belonging to Indonesia’s 7th President, Joko Widodo (Jokowi), has resurfaced. YouTuber Michael Sinaga now claims to have conducted a comparison and discovered differences in Jokowi’s diploma, which he obtained from two separate sources: the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) and the General Elections Commission (KPU), via public policy expert Bonatua Silalahi. “The placement of the legalisation differs; the legalisation stamp is different. They are both in the upper right corner, but if we place them side-by-side or superimpose them and hold them up to the light, it becomes apparent they are slightly different,” said Michael, as quoted on Monday (8/6). Michael stated that he submitted an information request to PDIP last week to obtain Jokowi’s diploma. He explained that the documents were required for investigative reporting purposes. As a former legislative candidate, Michael noted that during the nomination process, all candidate documents are typically submitted first to the political party before being forwarded to the KPU. “So, from my personal experience, any candidate—whether for the DPR, mayor, governor, or president—should provide one set of documents to the party. The party then submits them to the KPU,” he said. Meanwhile, PDIP politician Guntur Romli stated that his party provided a number of documents, including copies of the high school diploma, undergraduate diploma, and other files. “We opened all the files, the high school diploma, the S1 diploma, and other documents that could be disclosed under the Public Information Disclosure Act,” said Guntur when contacted on Monday (8/6).