Gerindra's Habib: Is Saiful Mujani's Criticism or a Political Operation?

Gerindra’s Deputy Chairman, Habiburokhman, has criticised the statements of senior political analyst Saiful Mujani regarding the discourse on toppling President Prabowo Subianto. Habib questioned Mujani’s criticism, asking whether it is based on a desire for improvement or merely a partisan political operation. “We know that Saiful Mujani is a wealthy political elite who has long been opposed to President Prabowo, including during the recent presidential election. Is Saiful Mujani’s criticism purely disseminated for improvement, or is it just a partisan political operation?” Habib said in his statement on Monday (13/4). The Chairman of Commission III of the DPR for security also expressed agreement with the statement from Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indrawijaya, who described the phenomenon of inflation of analysts. According to Habib, many analysts provide constructive criticism, but not a few are destructive or toxic. Among the latter, said Habib, they claim to be critics but what they convey is black propaganda, lies, and hatred. “Their motive could simply be to seize power, either through constitutional or unconstitutional means,” he stated. According to Habib, Mujani has the right to seize power. However, he assessed that the political cost to be paid by society would be too great if the seizure is done unconstitutionally. Habib explained that Prabowo has five years to fulfil his promises, and the people can evaluate him in 2029. If satisfactory, the people can re-elect him, and vice versa. “If Mr Prabowo’s performance does not satisfy, the people can end the mandate, but if deemed satisfactory, the people can continue to give the mandate for the next five years,” Habib said. Saiful Mujani opined that his statement calling for consolidation to topple President Prabowo Subianto is not a form of rebellion, but part of a political stance. According to him, a political stance is one level below political participation or action. Political participation, he said, is the core of democracy. Mujani stated that there is no democracy without political participation. However, that statement has recently led to police reports for alleged incitement. He is now facing two legal processes for alleged incitement stemming from his statements. Head of Public Relations of Metro Jaya Police, Commissioner Budi Hermanto, asked the public not to bring this case into the realm of political issues. “We also invite everyone to be wise together, not to turn the reports from two members of the public regarding criminalisation into issues of SARA or politics,” Budi said to reporters on Friday (10/4).