Yusril: Academics are free to criticise the government

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra stated that academics are free to criticise government policies, as this is not prohibited.

“If it’s academics, they are free to criticise the government; no one is forbidding or obstructing that,” Yusril said in Jakarta on Wednesday, in response to the reports filed against Feri Amsari and Ubedilah Badrun.

Regarding academics who express criticism while holding the status of civil servants (ASN), Yusril said that ethical mechanisms should take precedence in assessing whether there is any violation, rather than immediately resorting to criminalisation.

“If ethics determines there is no ethical violation, then what? What is the basis for conducting a criminal investigation?” he stated.

According to Yusril, enforcement of ethics is generally prioritised over criminal proceedings, unless evidence of other legal violations, such as incitement, is found.

“If it’s incitement, that is indeed a criminal offence. That’s a bit tricky, but I don’t think it’s incitement; people expressing opinions cannot be obstructed,” he said.

On the other hand, Yusril reminded that anyone has the right to report others. However, every police report must go through a series of processes to determine whether it is valid to proceed to the next stage.

He said that the academics who have been reported to the police should follow the report processing procedures, including when asked for statements. In that forum, the academics can provide clarifications.

“Anyone, whether an academic or not, if the police then study it and invite them—not summon them—for clarification, my advice is to attend. Get it clarified. Hopefully, after clarification, it doesn’t need to be escalated to investigation or prosecution stages,” he said.