Rismon Apologises to Jokowi Over Fake Degree Allegations

Rismon Hasiholan Sianipar has apologised to Indonesia’s seventh president, Joko Widodo (Jokowi), regarding allegations that his undergraduate degree from Gadjah Mada University (UGM) is fraudulent.

Rismon conveyed his apology directly to Jokowi during a meeting at Jokowi’s residence in Sumber, Solo, Central Java, on Thursday 12 March.

Rismon met with Jokowi after filing a restorative justice petition with Metro Jaya Police.

“Naturally, I apologise to the public, and especially to relevant parties such as Mr Joko Widodo,” Rismon said after being received by Jokowi.

Rismon is one of the suspects in the case involving allegations of a fraudulent degree for Jokowi at Metro Jaya Police. He, along with Roy Suryo and Tifauzia Tyassuma (Dr Tifa), alleged that Jokowi’s degree was fake based on their scientific research. This research was documented in the book “Jokowi’s White Paper.”

From the 700-page book, Rismon claimed to have written approximately 180 pages. He asserted that his research was conducted independently, despite being published alongside the research of Roy Suryo and Dr Tifa.

“This means our writings, between Mr Roy and Ms Tifa, had no mutual dependence and no interconnection because they were written separately both geographically and analytically,” he said.

After the publication of “Jokowi’s White Paper,” Rismon claimed to have conducted further research. From these subsequent findings, he concluded that there were no irregularities in Jokowi’s degree.

“There is no digital manipulation as I concluded in the book ‘Jokowi’s White Paper’. What does this mean? Its authenticity has been preserved,” he said.