PDIP's Deddy Highlights Tabanan Mob Killing, Home Minister Quips About Local Leader's Party

House of Representatives Commission II member Deddy Sitorus of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) has called on regional governments to share responsibility for ensuring public safety following a spate of fatal mob attacks. Speaking during a meeting with the Home Affairs Ministry at the parliament complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Thursday, Deddy highlighted several recent cases, including the killing of a man accused of stealing a chicken in Tabanan, Bali, and the death of a security guard at the Jatiluhur Reservoir in Purwakarta, West Java. He described the Tabanan incident as a senseless death, noting the victim had reportedly been away for three days trying to earn money for rice and school fees. Deddy questioned the role of local governments in protecting citizens, arguing that public safety is a collective responsibility, particularly for regional heads, and that the state had failed in these instances. He urged Home Minister Tito Karnavian to convene police, military, and regional leaders to establish a standard operating procedure to prevent such incidents from recurring.

Responding to the criticism, Home Minister Tito Karnavian acknowledged that public safety is the highest law and noted the viral videos of the attacks. He then asked Deddy to help remind the relevant regional head of their duties, before quipping that he had checked which party the Tabanan regent belonged to. Deddy quickly clarified that the regent, I Komang Gede Sanjaya, who is also the PDIP branch chairman in Tabanan, had immediately provided compensation to the victim’s family and pledged to fund the education of the victim’s children. Karnavian welcomed the post-incident support but stressed that regional governments must also focus on preventive measures, such as strengthening community security systems, to stop such violence before it occurs.