Sahroni Welcomes Acquittal of Amsal Sitepu: Law Enforcement Initially Lacked Awareness of the Creative Industry
Jakarta - Deputy Chairman of Commission III of the Indonesian House of Representatives Ahmad Sahroni has welcomed the acquittal of videographer Amsal Christy Sitepu in the alleged budget inflation case.
“I greatly appreciate the law enforcement authorities who ultimately listened to and accommodated public voices,” said Sahroni when contacted by Kompas.com on Wednesday (1/4/2026).
Sahroni assessed that in the initial handling stage of the case, law enforcement authorities (APH) did not fully understand the intricacies of the creative industry.
However, Sahroni continued, the APH eventually heeded input from various parties who deemed the handling of Amsal’s case as a creative industry worker to be inappropriate.
Therefore, Sahroni stressed the importance of space for discourse between law enforcers and the public in handling matters intersecting with the creative sector.
The Nasdem politician hopes that law enforcement authorities can remain open to criticism and public input.
“Discourses like this need to be continuously pursued. And I hope that law enforcers in Indonesia can always open their hearts and minds to criticism and the voices of the people,” he concluded.
Previously reported, the Medan District Court panel of judges issued an acquittal verdict for Amsal in the alleged corruption case for producing village profile videos in Karo Regency on Wednesday (1/4/2026).
“The defendant is acquitted of all charges from the public prosecutor. The defendant’s rights in terms of ability, position, dignity, and honour are restored,” said Mohammad Yusafrihardi Girsang.
The case stemmed from Amsal’s work as a videographer through his company, CV Promiseland, in the project to produce village profile videos in Karo Regency from 2020 to 2022.
In the project, Amsal offered a production cost of Rp 30 million per village to around 20 villages.
However, based on expert analysis and audit by the Inspectorate, the reasonable cost for one video was estimated at around Rp 24.1 million.
The difference between the offered value and the estimated reasonable cost formed the basis for the alleged budget markup.