Online Motorbike Taxi Workers Storm SMRC Office Demanding Saiful Mujani Retract Statement
A group claiming to represent the Indonesian Online Motorbike Taxi Association held a demonstration at the Saiful Mujani Research & Consulting (SMRC) office in the Menteng area of Jakarta on Tuesday (14/4).
Observations by CNNIndonesia.com showed that the protesting crowd, numbering around dozens of people, began arriving at the location at 12:00 WIB, led by a command vehicle.
They uniformly wore online motorbike taxi driver attire, accompanied by flags from their respective communities.
The protesters reportedly came not only from Jakarta but also from various regions, such as Karawang and Bekasi.
“We demand that Saiful Mujani retract his statement regarding calls for the Indonesian people to overthrow the leadership of our Republic’s President, Mr Prabowo Subianto,” said the General Chairman of the Indonesian Online Motorbike Taxi Association, Cecep Syarifudin, in his speech.
Cecep condemned Mujani’s statement, deeming it an act of treason. He accused Mujani of seeking chaos and horizontal conflict within society.
He stated that Mujani’s statement was highly dangerous.
“An apology from Saiful Mujani to the Indonesian people through TV and online media,” he said.
Cecep also urged the police to investigate the case, as it was seen to border on treasonous actions.
“If our demands are not realised within 3 x 24 hours, we will return with a larger crowd,” he said.
Recently, a video clip of Mujani narrating calls to topple the government has gone viral on social media. His statement has also resulted in police reports for alleged incitement.
Saiful Mujani himself is a Professor of Political Science at UIN Syarif Hidayatullah and the founder of the research and political policy consultancy firm based on research, Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC).
In the video clip, Mujani appears to be speaking at an event with a ‘Halal bi Halal’ backdrop. However, it is not yet known exactly when and at what event Mujani spoke.
“Yes, only we can do it, the people; ’98 wouldn’t have happened if the people and friends didn’t come down, the MPR wouldn’t have brought down Suharto, it wouldn’t have,” said Mujani in the circulating video clip.
Former Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD assessed that the statement cannot be categorised as treason.
Mahfud explained that in the new Criminal Code (KUHP), treason is regulated in a single article, namely Article 193.
“The term treason is actually regulated in just one article, Article 193, with two paragraphs; the first one refers to treason with the intent to overthrow a government that is not in accordance with the Constitution. So, it means intending to overthrow,” said Mahfud, quoted from an upload on his personal YouTube account, Thursday (9/4).
Saiful Mujani has also stated that his call for consolidation to topple President Prabowo Subianto is not a form of treason but part of a political stance.
He stated that a political stance is one level below political participation or action. Political participation, he said, is the core of democracy. Mujani said there is no democracy without political participation.