Rismon Reverses Position on Jokowi's Diploma Authenticity in Solo Visit

After months of controversy leading to legal proceedings, Rismon Hasiholan Sianipar has reversed his position, now stating that there are no irregularities in the undergraduate diploma of Indonesia’s seventh President, Joko Widodo (Jokowi), from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM).

Rismon claimed he had conducted additional research, the findings of which concluded that there were no irregularities in Jokowi’s diploma.

Over recent months, Rismon, together with Roy Suryo and Tifauzia Tyassuma, known as Dr Tifa, had questioned allegations of forged diplomas belonging to Jokowi. Jokowi reported the three of them and several others to the Jakarta Metro Police, resulting in them being named as suspects.

With his new findings, Rismon has now sought to resolve the matter through restorative justice mechanisms. He visited Jokowi’s residence in Solo to deliver a direct apology.

“There is no digital manipulation as I concluded in the book Jokowi’s White Paper. What does this mean? The authenticity is preserved,” Rismon said after being received by Jokowi at his residence in Sumber, Solo, on Thursday (12 March).

Rismon is one of the suspects in the case regarding allegations of forged diploma claims against Jokowi at the Jakarta Metro Police. He, together with Roy Suryo and Dr Tifa, had accused Jokowi’s diploma of being forged 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, although it was published together with research by Roy Suryo and Dr Tifa.

“This means our writing—between Mr Roy and Mrs Tifa—had no interdependence, no connection because it was written separately both geographically and in analysis,” he said.