LiputanIslam.com –There are political nuances around the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Novel Baswedan acid attack case. Novel Baswedan and his supporters believe that the crime is entirely politically motivated, not personal revenge. They also think that the handling is very political, as evidenced by the prosecutor’s low sentence demand for the attacker, which is only one year in prison. The reason for this demand was considered very absurd. By saying that the attacker “accidentally” thrown sulfuric acid at Baswedan’s face, the prosecutors seemed like they were defending the defendants.
Then, a comedian named Bintang Emon appeared criticizing the light sentence sought for Baswedan’s attacker. In a short video, he shows the absurdity which underlies this demands. The skit was met with praise among fellow netizens, with some lauding Emon’s decision to use his penchant for humor to speak up about the notoriously difficult case. This satirical video has become viral. His name immediately topped the national trending topics on Twitter for some time.
Shortly thereafter, Bintang experienced harassment, one of which was an accusation that he was a drug addict. Some netizens conclude that the harassment came from what they called the “Palace buzzer”. The so-called “buzzers” are social media activists allegedly paid by the Jokowi government in order to silence critical voices from the opposition.
From the start, supporters of the Jokowi government had indeed criticized Baswedan who was accused of using his position as a senior investigator at the KPK for political purposes. Before the acid attack case occured, Novel often spoke critical of Jokowi’s government. After the attack took place, he also criticized the very slow investigation of his case. He openly mentioned that there were police officers who were being the masterminds. Then, responding to the light sentence demands, Novel said that President Jokowi “allowed this to happen”.
Baswedan’s response linking President Jokowi with prosecutors’ light demands in the court process received negative reactions from his critics. They even counter-accused that the harassment against Bintang was fabricated because it was coming from the opposition itself. They claimed that the Twitter accounts who acused him of being a drug addict are ‘fake’ ones because they ‘disappeared’ immediately after the harassment case was widely discussed in the social media.
The dispute over Baswedan case, which was followed by harassment against Bintang, shows us how everything in this country is full of political nuances. From the acid attack case, investigation, to the trial stage, politicians have been making hostile accusations to each of their political opponents.
Bintang Emon is indeed a smart, funny and creative young person. We see him as an innocent comedian who dares to speak his mind. But, he is now caught in the vortex of political feuds of the politicians whose only job is seeking political advantage over any event. (os/ra)