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Gorontalo councillors report man over Facebook status
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Yusniar (right), a defendant in a defamation case related to a Facebook status, hugs her family on Thursday, Nov. 24, after the Makassar District Court suspended her detention. (JP/Andi Hajramurni)
T
en members of the Gorontalo Legislative Council in Gorontalo regency reported on Friday a civil servant over his Facebook status concerning the distribution of flood relief aid.
They accused the man of defamation and violating the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law.
The civil servant, identified as ML, allegedly wrote a status on Nov. 5 defending himself after he was reportedly reprimanded by a legislator over the late arrival of flood relief aid in a district. ML, also a flood alert team member, did not mention the councillor by name but called him “oknum,” an Indonesian word usually used to refer to wayward officials.
“We as members of the flood alert team and [Disaster Alert Kampung] are humans, sir. We leave our families, our usual work duties, daily routines and spend our personal time helping flood victims. Is it right that for a councillor to treat us like this? ” he wrote on his Facebook account.
Syahmid Henu, council speaker, said he was offended by the status. “I’m being bullied through Facebook,” he said Friday.
Syahmid said on Nov. 5 that he saw a flood alert team member distribute rice and instant noodles in the Datahu village office in Tibawa district, not far from his house. He approached a team member and asked them why the aid had just arrived, while the flood occurred on Oct. 26.
“He didn’t answer my question and his answer was instead on Facebook,” the politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said.
Local media quoted ML as saying that he had written the status after his friends encouraged him to defend the team. He said the aid had not been delivered late. (evi)
