MPR Decides to Rehold Quiz Competition in West Kalimantan
The People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) has decided to rehold the final of the inter-high school quiz competition in West Kalimantan following a viral polemic over the judging that has come under scrutiny.
The decision was conveyed by MPR Chairman Ahmad Muzani during a press conference at the parliamentary complex on Wednesday (23/5). Muzani emphasised that the body has made the decision and has evaluated the case.
“The quiz competition (LCC) at the West Kalimantan level, the final of which we will rehold,” said Muzani.
However, Muzani has not yet revealed the timing of the reheld competition. The MPR assured that it will be held in the near future.
In addition, Muzani stated that for the reheld final, the judges will be selected independently outside the MPR’s General Secretariat. They will be drawn from academic elements in the West Kalimantan region.
“The judges who will judge the Quiz Competition are independent judges,” he said.
The viral incident in the final of the MPR RI’s Four Pillars Quiz Competition in West Kalimantan Province began when the judging panel gave different scores for the same answer from teams B and C in a buzzer question.
“The leadership of the BPK is elected from and by its members. However, to become a BPK member, ties to regional representation are still maintained. In electing BPK members, the DPR is required to consider input from which institution?” asked the host, quoted from the MPR YouTube channel on Monday (11/5).
Team C from SMAN 1 Pontianak, which pressed the buzzer first, answered that members of the Financial Audit Board are elected by the House of Representatives while considering input from the Regional Representative Council and are inaugurated by the President.
However, Dyastasita, Head of the MPR General Secretariat’s Assessment Bureau acting as a judge, gave a score of -5 or penalised Team C’s answer.
The question was then passed and answered by Team B with the same answer. However, the judge awarded 10 points or validated their answer. One participant from Team C immediately protested. They showed confused expressions because their answer was penalised despite being the same.
Dyastasita stood firm and reasoned that Team C’s answer did not include the Regional Representative Council or DPD. Team C protested again, stating that the initial answer had included the Regional Representative Council. However, Dyastasita did not change her decision.
Meanwhile, another judge, Indri Wahyuni, Head of the Secretariat of the MPR’s Socialisation Board, instead asked participants to clarify their articulation when answering questions.
The MPR recently issued an apology regarding the viral judging decision. Deputy Chairman of the MPR, Abcandra Muhammad Akbar Supratman, assured that the body would evaluate the judges’ performance and the competition system.
“We apologise for the judges’ negligence. We will follow up on this incident,” said Abcandra in his statement on Tuesday (12/5).