HMPN optimistic that the public will not be provoked into sedition against the government

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Himpunan Mahasiswa Pascasarjana Nusantara (HMPN) is optimistic that the public will not be provoked into taking extreme actions or committing sedition against the legitimate government.

“The Prabowo administration has only been in office for about 1.5 years and is currently striving to implement various programmes to improve public welfare amid geopolitical and fiscal challenges,” said HMPN General Chairman Astra Tandang during a public discussion in Jakarta on Monday.

Previously, allegations of incitement to sedition against the government were made by Saiful Mujani and aired on a YouTube channel recently, and have been widely reported to the police by various parties.

Therefore, he emphasised the importance of all parties returning to democratic principles and respecting the people’s choice.

On the other hand, Astra views Saiful’s statement as part of freedom of expression as well as concern over the absence of critical voices from political parties.

“This can also be seen as a reflection of disappointment towards political parties that are deemed not yet optimal in presenting a strong opposition in our current political atmosphere,” he stated.

For this reason, member of the Jakarta Regional People’s Representative Council (DPRD) Josephine Simanjuntak hopes that space for civil freedom must continue to be opened as widely as possible.

“But the existing freedom should not disrupt public interests by introducing provocative narratives,” said Josephine.

On the same occasion, senior journalist Asri Hadi reminded that it is not only necessary to pursue the field perpetrators of the acid splashing against human rights activist, namely Deputy Coordinator of KontraS Andrie Yunus.

He emphasised the importance of uncovering the intellectual actors behind the attack, so as not to tarnish the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) as a whole.

“This is still under further investigation regarding the police report,” said the Head of Public Relations of Metro Jaya Police, Commissioner Pol Budi Hermanto, in Jakarta on Friday (10/4).

Budi said the number of reports received by Metro Jaya Police regarding the case has increased to two, but he did not explain who the reporters were.