BEM UI Answers PDIP about the 'Mistress with a Rat' Meme: This is Democratic
The University of Indonesia Student Executive Board (BEM UI) responded to senior PDIP politician, Hendrawan Supratikno, who said students should not spit curses regarding the meme of DPR Speaker Puan Maharani having a rat body. BEM UI said that the meme was not an insult, but a proper criticism.
"For me it's not a curse, but it's a valid criticism," said BEM UI chairman Melki Sedek Huang when contacted, Thursday (23/3/2023).
Melki emphasized that the meme of Puan with the body of a rat is the peak expression of UI students' anger regarding the passing of a Government Regulation in lieu of the Job Creation Law (Perppu), which is considered to have the same substance as the Job Creation Law.
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"So the visualization and various things that we published illustrate all of our anger. That the people in (DPR) no longer represent us, but represent various interests that are clearly not the interests of the people. So it is no longer appropriate for them to use the words of the House of Representatives," said Melki.
Melki then talked about democracy related to the meme of Puan with a rat body. He believes that all political parties should understand.
"This is an appropriate criticism, it is a democratic realm, and all political parties should understand very well that in a democratic country the highest level is people's sovereignty, not just oligarchic sovereignty," said Melki.
"We don't see important voices regarding the rejection of Job Creation being voiced. In fact, legal products are legalized that are unconstitutional. That is what the publication really wants to convey," he added.
There are three things that became the basis for Melki's opinion that the Job Creation Perppu violated the constitution. The first is because Indonesia, according to him, is not in a precarious situation.
"For us, this is President Jokowi's attempt which is very unconstitutional. He violated the rules. Why? This Perppu for Job Creation was issued without fulfilling the parameters contained in the 1945 Constitution, that the Perppu was issued in a state of coercive urgency," explained he.
"We can't see what kind of extraordinary crisis it is, and what efforts the government is currently making with the Job Creation Perppu. If you say it's related to inflation, (Minister of Finance) Sri Mulyani said our financial condition is fine," continued Melki.
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Second, said Melki, the issuance of the Job Creation Perppu was related to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine which had an impact on Indonesia. He then asked what concrete and significant impacts Indonesia had from the war.
"If it is said that this is related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, this needs to be explained to what extent the impact is directly on Indonesia," said Melki.
Finally, Melki also criticized the urgency of issuing the Job Creation Perppu related to the environment. This is because, he said, the government is still issuing regulations which he considers not to be in favor of the environment.
"And third, if you say this is related to the environment, in fact the government is still issuing regulations or policies that are not in favor of the environment," concluded Melki.
PDIP Responds to Meme Puan with Rat Body
Previously, the senior PDIP politician, Hendrawan Supratikno, responded to criticism in uploads on BEM UI's social media. He was worried that BEM UI would be used by certain groups for activities that went beyond academic corridors and ethics
"I'm worried that there are those who use BEM-UI to carry out expressions of activities that are out of the corridor and academic ethics. Students should emphasize analytical-solutive criteria. Challenge rational-argumentative discussions and debates. Not to indulge in swear words and narratives that degrade the essence of their main duties," Hendrawan told reporters.
Hendrawan said the DPR through the DPR Legislation Body held a series of events to absorb the aspirations of the relevant parties. According to him, a number of professors were involved to carry out the final assessment, including professors from UI.
"To anticipate unwanted effects (unwanted effects) from the Ciptaker Law, we must build a more equitable business world ecosystem in the future. The F-PDIP is currently considering and debating the possibility of rolling out the Cipta Justice Bill using the omnibus method," he added.