Parliamentary Press Corps Slams Lawmaker Deddy Sitorus for Allegedly Insulting Journalists

The Parliamentary Press Corps (KWP) has criticised a statement by House of Representatives (DPR) Commission II member Deddy Sitorus during a working meeting and public hearing with the Ministry of Home Affairs and regional heads on Thursday, which was deemed to insult the journalism profession. According to KWP Deputy Chair for Administration Erwin Syahputra Siregar, Deddy uttered the phrase ‘circus mob’, allegedly directed at journalists when members of the media entered the meeting room alongside Deputy Speaker of the DPR Sufmi Dasco Ahmad. ‘We consider this an extraordinary insult. Therefore, as KWP administrators, we will report this matter to the MKD (House Ethics Council), and possibly after the MKD process, we will also send letters to the faction and the Central Executive Board of PDI Perjuangan,’ Erwin said at the Parliament Complex in Jakarta on Thursday. He stated that the report would be submitted to the MKD, the faction, and the party if the individual concerned does not issue a public apology to parliamentary journalists within 24 hours. ‘If we later deem the response unsatisfactory or if there is no action from the MKD, the faction, or the party’s central board, we will then file a legal report with the police,’ he added. According to him, a meeting declared open to the public should be covered freely. If there were any obstacles, they should have been communicated in a proper manner. ‘Why did he have to call journalists a circus mob? The phrase was more or less like that, ’circus mob’. We journalists are not a circus. Without the work of journalists, the Indonesian public would not have known about the proclamation of independence,’ he said. Erwin emphasised that the KWP’s statement was not an attempt to seek attention. He expressed hope that there would be no further insults of any kind against journalists across Indonesia. ‘If they want to make peace, please do, because we are also forgiving. Journalists are not looking for a fight, which is why we are calling for a public apology within 24 hours,’ he said. Meanwhile, Deddy claimed he was not referring to journalists. He said his remark was made upon seeing the meeting room suddenly become crowded. ‘Not at all. Check the recording. I said nothing of the sort. I saw the meeting had started, there were too many people inside, even though there was a balcony upstairs. I said, ’Please maintain order. Space has been provided upstairs, don’t be like a circus.’ That is what I said,’ Deddy stated when met separately.