Pigai Clarifies President Prabowo's Criticism Regarding Experts
Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai has spoken out regarding statements made by President Prabowo Subianto, who criticised the phenomenon of certain parties presenting themselves as experts.
Pigai emphasised that the criticism is not directed at all scientists or specialists. According to him, the focus is on individuals who hold intellectual or expert status while simultaneously pursuing various other roles and interests.
“What the President means are groups that hold multiple positions. Intellectual groups and experts who also act as activists, buzzers, influencers, haters, supporters of Party A or Party B, or members of interest groups,” Pigai stated, as reported on Wednesday, 23 September 2026.
Pigai noted that this phenomenon is particularly visible on social media. An individual with a specific scientific background may be labelled an expert, yet at the same time holds positions as an activist, partisan, influencer, or supporter of a particular political group.
According to Pigai, this condition must be distinguished from scientists who provide perspectives based solely on their academic capacity.
“So, it is not everyone. As I mentioned, there is one individual who is widely referred to as a professor and a doctor of constitutional law. However, they were previously a minister, then a member of the House of Representatives for a political party, then a leader of a high state institution, then an activist, then a candidate for national leadership, and now a social media manager,” he said.
Pigai subsequently linked this phenomenon to the book The Death of Expertise by Tom Nichols, which discusses the challenges faced by expert authority when confronted with public debate and the evolution of social media.
“What the President is criticising are ‘post-truth experts’ who silence and bury the truth. Post-truth experts,” Pigai remarked.
He stated that the development of the internet and social media allows information and opinions to spread widely. Therefore, Pigai argued, the public needs to understand an individual’s true capacity when they appear as a source of information.
“So please understand that what the President said does not apply to everyone. It does not. But it refers to those experts who operate in that manner,” he added.
Pigai also provided several historical examples regarding scientific debate and public policy, though the specific examples and figures mentioned in the forum were not accompanied by detailed sources in the statement.