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Jokowi declines to comment on “Jokowi Undercover”
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Allegedly defamatory – National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Rikwanto holds up “Jokowi Undercover”, a book written by Bambang Tri Mulyono that reportedly contains libelous statements, after a press conference in Jakarta. Jokowi has declined to comment on the book. (Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo declined to comment on Monday on the controversy surrounding a book about him titled Jokowi Undercover, whose author Bambang Tri Mulyono has been arrested by the National Police for defamation.
The President said there was no reason for him to read or to make a comment about the book, which he implied had been written without using valid data and without following academic rules on book publishing.
“If the data is not collected scientifically and there are obscure sources, then why do I have to read or comment about it?” Jokowi said after meeting with Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police leaders at the TNI headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta.
Bambang has been charged with violating Article 207 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) concerning defamation of the government and state institutions, Article 28 of Law No. 11/2008 on electronic information and transactions (ITE) and Article 16 of Law No. 40/2008 on the elimination of racial and ethnic discrimination.
(Read also: Police charge "Jokowi Undercover" author with defamation)
Bambang wrote that Jokowi and Vice President Jusuf Kalla were elected in 2014 because of the success of press institutions in fooling the public.
Bambang alleged that Jokowi had falsified data before registering as a presidential candidate. He also wrote that Giriroto in Boyolali regency, Central Java, was the base of the now-defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). He wrote that Jokowi’s mother, Sujiatmi Notomiatdjo, was reportedly born in the village.
