Jember DPRD Member Explains Why He Was Smoking and Playing Games During a Meeting: 'It Was a Lapse in Judgement, I'm Just Human'
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Achmad Syahri Assidiqi, a member of the Jember DPRD from the Gerindra faction, admitted that his actions of playing games and smoking during a DPRD meeting were a lapse in judgement.
Syahri made the statement after attending a hearing of the Gerindra Party’s Honour Council at the party’s DPP office on Friday, May 15, 2026.
“It was just a lapse in judgement, I’m just human,” Syahri said to reporters on Friday.
When asked if he had done anything similar before, Syahri claimed that this was the first time.
“It’s the first time. I regret it, and I apologise for any mistakes I made. That’s all I can say,” Syahri said.
“I deeply regret my actions and I assure you that I will not repeat them,” he added.
At the same event, the Chairman of the Jember DPRD, Ahmad Halim, said that the decision of the Honour Council was a stern warning to Syahri.
“So, to all the media, this is a stern and final warning. As you heard from the party’s court decision, it means that if there are any further mistakes, there will automatically be some form of dismissal,” Halim said.
Halim added that the Jember DPRD is currently waiting for a copy of the decision to determine the next steps through the institution’s internal mechanisms.
Previously, it was reported that the Gerindra Party’s Honour Council had issued a final warning to Syahri during an ethics hearing held on Friday.
“We hereby issue a stern and final warning to Mr. Ahmad Syahri As-Siddiq Sarjana Ekonomi, a member of the Gerindra Party faction in the Jember Regency DPRD,” said the Chairman of the Gerindra Party’s Honour Council, Fikrah Auliaurrahman, while reading out the decision.
In decision number 05-004/PTS/MK.GERINDRA/2026, the Honour Council stated that Syahri had violated the Gerindra Party’s Articles of Association and Bylaws (AD/ART).
He was found to have violated Article 16, paragraph 2 of the Gerindra Party’s AD, regarding the obligation to uphold the party’s name and honour.