Golkar Responds to Fadia Arafiq's admission of not understanding governance rules after KPK sting operation
The Central Leadership Council (DPP) of the Golkar Party has spoken out regarding the confession by its cadre and Pekalongan Regent Fadia Arafiq, who admitted not understanding the rules of governance in the wake of a KPK sting operation (OTT), on Tuesday (3 March).
Secretary-General Muhammad Sarmuji said a public official must adjust to their duties, particularly regarding governance.
“A person who holds a position as a government official must adjust to their field of duty, including governance,” Sarmuji said when contacted on Friday (6 March).
According to Sarmuji, even though the party and the government have provided orientation to all regional heads, they must continually update their knowledge.
Moreover, every regional government has a legal department with a duty to support the work of the regional heads.
“The party and central government have already tried to provide briefing, but the details thereafter must always be upgraded continuously,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Irawan, a member of the House of Representatives in Commission II from Golkar, explained that in the principle of legal fiction, everyone understands the law, especially for public officials.
On the other hand, Irawan said, a person also has a place to ask about the law. For regional heads, legal understanding can be questioned via the Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) or regional apparatus.”
Therefore, he said, understanding the law for regional heads or public officials in general is a basic matter.
“Moreover, the state has prepared regional governance apparatus such as local bureaucracies to be a supporting system to support regional heads in administration, management and operations to ensure governance complies with the law,” Irawan said.
Following the OTT, Fadia, according to the KPK, does not understand governance due to her background as a dangdut singer.
However, Asep Guntur Rahayu, Deputy for Enforcement and Execution at the KPK, said the singer’s remarks about her background as a dangdut performer contradict the doctrine of presumptio iures de iure or the theory of legal fiction.
“FAR is a Bupati or state administrator for two terms, and has served once as Deputy Bupati from 2011-2016, so FAR should understand the implementation of the principles of good governance in local government,” he said.