By: Amir Aziz *
Print media is one of the means used by political competitors to overthrow its opposition. After the circulation of the Indonesia Barokah tabloid, which received special attention from the Election Supervisor (Bawaslu), this time the Coordinator of the Bawaslu Supervision Division of West Java (Jabar), Zacky Hilmi said that he again found three tabloids similar to Indonesia Barokah, namely Pesantren Kita, Media Umat and Kaffah. All three circulated since two days ago and were first discovered in the Bogor area with different content.
Based on the search for Bawaslu, the emergence of the three tabloids together with the spread technique is divided into the same location, namely the mosque and the pesantren. The content in it is contrary to Indonesia Barokah and tends to discredit Paslon serial number 01 Joko Widodo-Ma’ruf Amin The appearance of the three tabloids is shared but the distribution is divided. From the searches obtained by Bawaslu, for the Kaffah and Media Umat tabloids spread in Bogor while the Pesantren Kita and Kaffah spread in Sukabumi and the distribution locations chose Islamic boarding schools and mosques similar to the Indonesia Barokah tabloid.
However, all content stated by Bawaslu does not violate the election rules even though there are news stories that corner the presidential candidate who fought in the 2019 Presidential Election. The legality and substance of the contents are under the authority of the Press Council. And submitted to the Press Council for further action. Regarding material in the electoral context there is no element of violating the provisions. It is different from the treatment with the Indonesia Barokah tabloid, which is currently under the supervision of Bawaslu, especially in locations where initial deployment, such as post offices, Islamic boarding schools, to mosques to disperse if a similar spread of tabloids appears, Bawaslu asks the parties not to disseminate. At present, the Indonesia Barokah Tabloid that had circulated has been confiscated and secured at the local police station. Bawaslu also cooperates with the Press Council to conduct a study on whether this includes journalist products which are the realm in which the Press Council is taking action. In addition, the Election Supervisory Body also asked the police to investigate whether this was included in another criminal offense and not an election crime.
The Bawaslu should be able to be objective in analyzing and reviewing any findings that are being explored. The circulation of tabloids and bulletins that cross each other with the two presidential candidates is one proof and an indication of violations as an effort to influence public opinion for the sake of votes. However, if the Bawaslu only acts decisively against the tabloids who are descending Paslon number 2 through the Indonesia Barokah tabloid and similar tabloids in circulation do not get the same supervision, it can be a question for us all about the neutrality that Bawaslu currently has.
Rising issues and the impact of the circulation of various tabloids have become a breath of fresh air for the perpetrators, but it has become a disaster for the holding of elections that are being tampered with by certain parties. Therefore, the Community is all expected to remain critical and careful in receiving and disseminating information from various sources in order to create a democratic party that is honest and fair and safe.
) * Political Science Student at Lambung Mangkurat University