Pigai Rejects Policing of Feri Amsari, Claims There is a Government Downgrade Scenario

Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai has emphasised that reports against academic Feri Amsari regarding his criticism of the food self-sufficiency policy should not be escalated to the legal realm. The same applies to academic Ubaedillah Badrun, who was also reported to the police for his criticism titled “Prabowo Gibran Beban Bangsa.” Pigai views opinions or views containing criticism of a policy as a human right of citizens guaranteed by the constitution. Therefore, such statements, according to Pigai, cannot be criminalised or lead to imprisonment. “Public opinions or views should be responded to with data, facts, and credible information by the authorities,” Pigai stated in his comments on Saturday (18/4/2026). Regarding the recent wave of police reports against observers, such as those against Feri Amsari and Ubaedillah Badrun, Pigai warns of a scenario to downgrade the government, making it seem anti-criticism and anti-democratic. However, Pigai claims that the Prabowo-Gibran administration places human rights and democratic values as its primary foundation. “Feri Amsari is also not an agriculture expert, so he lacks competence in that field. Not only does he not need to be reported to the police, he doesn’t even need to be responded to,” Pigai said. Pigai stresses that criticism of government policies is a human right of every citizen protected by the constitution. He asserts that critical opinions cannot be criminalised or lead to imprisonment, unless they contain elements of incitement leading to treasonous acts, accompanied by ad hominem attacks, as well as assaults on ethnicity, race, and religion. “The statements by Feri Amsari and Ubaedillah Badrun remain within the corridor of general criticism of public policy,” Pigai said.