When Law Enforcement Officials Are Summoned by DPR Commission III: What Phenomenon Is This?
JAKARTA - Several law enforcement officials (APH) in Indonesia have been summoned by the parliamentary commission handling legal affairs, Commission III of the DPR RI. This phenomenon is considered an alarm.
The latest case, the alleged corruption targeting a videographer in Karo, North Sumatra, Amsal Christy Sitepu, has come under scrutiny due to perceived mishandling.
Criminal Law Expert from Brawijaya University, Aan Eko Widiarto, stated that the proliferation of APH summons to the DPR RI should serve as a warning or alarm for leadership.
“With so many APH being summoned, this is indeed an alarm for APH, particularly the Prosecutor’s Office and the Police,” Aan said when contacted by Kompas.com on Friday (3/4/2026).
The summoning of APH to attend a General Opinion Hearing (RDPU) with Commission III of the DPR RI is seen as a balancing mechanism to ensure that the authority of prosecutors, police, and judges does not exceed limits.
“This acts as a balance, so that the power and authority held by APH, judges, prosecutors, and police is not without bounds,” Aan said.
The summoning of prosecutors, police, and even TNI by Commission III of the DPR RI is regarded as a signal that there are problems in the law enforcement process in Indonesia.
“This is also an indication that our law enforcement is facing issues, which therefore requires special attention from both the Attorney General and the Supreme Court,” said Fickar when contacted on Friday.
He emphasised that APH should be aware that they must not act arbitrarily at this time. This is because there are increasingly more eyes watching, including the public.
For some time now, Commission III of the DPR RI has routinely conducted RDPU with victims of case handling deemed irregular.
The latest involves videographer Amsal Sitepu, who was ultimately acquitted due to irregularities in his case, which went viral in society and attracted the attention of DPR RI leadership.
The Public Prosecutor (JPU) in Karo charged Amsal with budget inflation. However, Amsal is a private party, not a civil servant (ASN).
Another highlighted case is the pursuit of the death penalty for the crew member of the Sea Dragon Tarawa vessel, Fandi, in a 1.9-tonne methamphetamine smuggling case.
The viral narrative is that Fandi had only been working a few days before being arrested by APH.
This case drew attention from Commission III of the DPR RI, which called for prosecutors to more carefully consider the roles and actions of the perpetrators.
Fandi was deemed not the main perpetrator, making the death penalty seem inappropriate.
Ultimately, on 5 March 2026, Fandi was sentenced to 5 years in prison and escaped the death penalty. Currently, the legal process is still ongoing as there are appeals from various parties.