Hoax! Susi Pudjiastuti did not urge Puan Maharani to resign as House Speaker

A Facebook post has falsely claimed that former Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Susi Pudjiastuti, urged House Speaker Puan Maharani to step down from her position due to a perceived lack of capability in serving the people. The post, which garnered approximately 2,500 likes and 1,400 comments, featured a photo collage of the two figures alongside text suggesting Pudjiastuti was campaigning for Maharani’s removal. The accompanying narrative read: ‘Amidst the current economic difficulties facing the nation, Puan remains silent. What exactly is their function? I fully agree with Mrs Susi Pudjiastuti… that Puan should just be removed as House Speaker.’ However, an investigation found no official statement from Susi Pudjiastuti, either through mass media or her official social media accounts, calling for Puan Maharani to resign or be removed from her position as Speaker of the House of Representatives. A keyword search also yielded no news reports supporting the claim. Instead, the information points to reports of Pudjiastuti criticising the performance of members of parliament. In these reports, she urged Speaker Puan Maharani to take firm action against lawmakers deemed to lack empathy for the people. Pudjiastuti wrote that Maharani should gather all members of the House and ‘dismiss council members who have no empathy for the people’. This statement was a critique of parliamentary performance, not a call for Maharani herself to resign or be removed from her post. The claim that Susi Pudjiastuti urged Puan Maharani to step down as House Speaker is therefore unfounded.