Blunt Reasoning of the Official Behind the Rp2 T Akidi Tio Donation Claim

Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —

Public doubts about the contribution of the handling fund Covid-19 IDR 2 trillion promised by the family of the late entrepreneur Akidi Tio appeared when the youngest child, Heriyanty was picked up by the police on Monday (2/8) yesterday.

Not without reason, after one week the promise to provide assistance was symbolically handed over to the South Sumatra Police Chief (South Sumatra) Inspector General of Police Eko Indra Heri, until now the aid funds have not been disbursed.

Having received public praise, especially from netizens on social media, recently Akidi Tio’s family has made the public angry because the donation is now only considered a lie.

One of the skeptics about the fanfare of the Rp2 trillion donation is the former Minister of Law and Human Rights, Hamid Awaluddin.

Before the Rp2T from the Akidi family became a case in the police, Hamid was one of the voices refusing to believe until the money was real. Through an article in an online media column, the Minister of Law and Human Rights of the SBY-JK era (2004-2009) explained that his doubts were caused by many factors.

“From the beginning I never believed it (donation of Rp. 2 trillion). Because the person who made the promise was inconsistent with his profile,” said Hamid when talking with CNNIndonesia.com, Tuesday (3/8).

According to him, the assets of Akidi Tio and his family should be doubted because so far they have rarely been heard of. Hamid, as a former public official, considers that the businessman’s family background cannot prove the ownership of the price of up to Rp2 trillion.

“We never heard of any company [keluarga Akidi]. It’s different, for example, if the one who donates is the owner of BCA, now everyone [akan berkata], ‘oh yes yes’. There is no doubt,” he added.

A number of questions that should have been answered from the start, unfortunately Hamid, were not carried out by public officials in South Sumatra from the start when they received a symbolic donation for the handling of the pandemic worth Rp. 2 trillion from Akidi Tio.

“It’s a bit intellectually disturbed, why are we so easy to believe. Isn’t there a series of past events, things like this happen and it’s not proven, right?” said Hamid.

Examples of Lies in the Past

In fact, almost every era of the presidency in Indonesia has had similar cases of fraud involving public officials.

One of the most excited, for example, was when former Minister of Religion Said Agil Al-Munawar believed the news of the existence of treasures at the Batutulis Palace, Bogor, West Java. At that time, the government of President Megawati Soekarnoputri was in power. Said also claimed that the treasure in Batutulis was sufficient to pay off Indonesia’s foreign debt at that time.

Said insisted on digging for the treasure, but drew so many protests that it was not done. Until now, the existence of these treasures has not been proven.

Or, continued Hamid, another case that emerged in 2008 related to the discovery blue energy in Yogyakarta which is said to be able to use water as fuel. This research was supported by the University of Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) campus.

The case that occurred during the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY)-Jusuf Kalla (JK) was canceled because the research could not prove it and never found a device that could convert water into fuel.

“So when the case [sumbangan Akidi Tio] this appears, that’s the reaction of my intellectual protesting. Why we [elite] It’s easy to believe, it’s a pity for the people, “said Hamid in the discussion.

Regarding the issue of belief in the impossible, but echoed as if it were the truth by elite figures to public officials, sociologist from the University of Indonesia (UI) Ida Ruwaida said that it cannot be separated from human nature in general, which is easy to believe.

“Especially if the source of information is people who are known, famous, or influential figures. Even uniquely in this digital era, people are easy to believe in information that is not necessarily accurate… Especially if the information is spread by people who they think they deserve to be trusted,” said Ida when contacted, Wednesday (4/8).

He also gave examples of other cases that often appear in the public such as social gathering fraud, money doubling, and others. All of that, he continued, has a red line that is related to the economy.

“Material orientation or economic welfare is a fundamental issue in our society, especially in a crisis/pandemic situation like this,” continued Ida.

To overcome hoaxes in the community, he said, public officials play an important role in controlling them through educating citizens.

Ignore Check and Ricek

In the Akidi case, Hamid believes the public official concerned has neglected to confirm and investigate before proudly publishing it to the public, including through the mass media. In fact, according to him, the state has qualified resources to trace the truth of the donation.

There are many ways that can be done to ensure that the money to be donated is real before revealing it to the wider community.

“It’s very easy to check. The first is through transactions at PPATK. You can detect only IDR 100 thousand there, second, check with the taxes, right?” said Hamid.

Sociologists from Andalas University Indradin assess that what happened to the Akidi Tio family case in South Sumatra shows the condition of the country that has exhausted its budget for handling the pandemic, so that public officials and some people believe that if someone claims to want to donate. To use help.

“One of the recipients is also too naive, because the fantastic amount seems hard to believe for Indonesians,” he said when contacted, Wednesday (4/8).

However, Indradin also admitted that he was surprised that there was no check by the South Sumatra Police before the official announcement of the donation plan.

“This fantastic amount, or in quotation marks, does not make sense in Indonesia, it should be investigated before it is declared accepted,” he added. “This is tantamount to superstition.”