JK: Asking Jokowi to Show Original Diploma is Advice, Not Opposition

Tenth and twelfth Vice President Jusuf Kalla has stated that his remarks urging Joko Widodo to show his original diploma do not constitute opposition. He described it as advice to the former president. “I am not opposing, but giving advice,” Kalla said during a press conference at his residence in South Jakarta on Saturday, 18 April 2026. Kalla feels that as an elder, he needs to remind Jokowi to show his original diploma to the public. Moreover, he said, the former Solo Mayor believes his bachelor’s degree diploma is authentic. “So just show it so that this country remains safe,” Kalla stated. However, Kalla’s advice has been met with anger from various Jokowi supporters. Nevertheless, he said, his intention was merely to remind so that the Jokowi diploma polemic does not drag on. In a previous statement, Kalla said the Jokowi diploma issue has caused horizontal conflict in the form of societal division. “Just show it to the public and it’s done. Show the diploma this month and it’s settled. I am sure and certain that Mr Jokowi does not want, and no president wants, the people to be divided over this small matter,” he said. Former President Jokowi has denied the notion that the diploma polemic causes horizontal conflict in society. According to him, the developing polemic does not reach a level that threatens social stability. According to Jokowi, the matter is a personal affair because it directly involves the tarnishing of his name, although its impact extends to the public sphere. Jokowi emphasised that, in a legal context, the burden of proof lies with the accuser. He rejected the reversed logic of proof, where the accused is asked to prove their innocence. “That too we leave to the existing legal process. Indeed, it should be the accuser who proves it. Not me being asked to show it. Then anyone can accuse, and the accused is asked to show proof. That’s turned upside down,” Jokowi said on Friday, 10 April 2026. The Jokowi fake diploma issue has recently implicated JK. He reported Rismon Hasiholan Sianipar for defamation after claiming that he gave Rp 5 billion to Roy Suryo and associates related to attacks on Jokowi’s diploma. Rismon Sianipar and Roy Suryo have been named suspects by Metro Jaya Police for defamation and spreading false news regarding Jokowi’s diploma.