H

is resignation announced, apologies offered and sanctions enacted, former legislator Arifinto bid farewell to his political career. His first adieu will be with constituents in several regions in West Java.

Arifinto, a Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) legislator, arrived in Karawang regency on Tuesday where he met with local farmers.

“Most of them already knew about my case from the other day because the TV and other mass media had heavily exposed it,” he told The Jakarta Post.

Arifinto said he did not try to clear his name or defend himself for his alleged porn-watching behavior, which was caught on camera during a House plenary session last week.

“Since I had to resign [from the House of Representatives] due to the case the other day, I am using this visit to my constituents as a chance to say goodbye. I’m going to meet with my constituents and my party colleagues in the regions to apologize and bid farewell to the party,” he added.

Politics would no longer be his avenue to fight for people’s interests, he said.

“Politics, for me and my friends in the PKS, is just a means to fight for the people,” he told the Post, adding that he was not interested in politics in the first place.

“So, resigning from politics is not a problem for me.”

But Arifinto highlighted that his withdrawal from the PKS would be a decision for the party’s leaders.

Earlier on Tuesday, he apologized to his party and the public for his
behavior.

“I would like to make a special apology to the people of Indonesia. I also apologize to all the cadres in my party on the error I have committed,” he said.

Arifinto is now clearing out his office at the House and said he would submit his official resignation letter to his party by Wednesday.

His resignation received both appreciation and jeers.

PKS colleague and Communication and Information Technology Minister Tifatul Sembiring lauded Arifinto’s decision.

“His move to resign is a good example. Many public officials have been proven guilty; they failed and continue to fail,” he said as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Arifinto said he would resign to set an example for others in acknowledging their mistakes.

“Hopefully, my approach will set an example for others in admitting their faults with honesty. Hopefully, God will forgive my error,” he said.

The scandal Arifinto found himself in has not only caught national attention, but also piqued the international media on Monday.

Time.com, citing the BBC, published a quote by Arifinto: “I will continue to work for my party. I am also going to continue to better myself... by reading the Koran and asking for guidance” in its “Quotes of the Day” posting on Monday.

Other quotes came from former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and Ivory Coast’s ambassador to the UN, Youssoufou Bamba.

Time.com also mentioned that Arifinto came from an Islamic party that “promoted the nation’s controversial anti-pornography laws”.

The PKS, an Islam-based political party, was a staunch supporter of the law that received much public criticism for its loose definitions and discrimination against women.

Time also published Arifinto’s claim that the images came via a link in an email.

The journalist who took the photographs, however, contested the claim, saying he had at least 60 photos of the legislator accessing the porn from a folder on the tablet.

Arifinto told the Post on Tuesday that he was considering reopening his book publication business. (lfr)