A bit of hope for Freedom of Expression in social media. Exhibit Indonesia Case

Although still bleeding my legs, for a greater good I am writing it, as victim of systematic-massive ‘fitna’ / smeared and also doxxed in last 13 years.

London 10.41pm

Mas / Mister Nezar Patria is a former activist, and was part of [or victim] abductions of pro-democracy activists which happened between the 1997 Indonesian Legislative Election and the fall of Suharto in the 1998 / May 1998 riot.

Mas Nezar replied to my email years ago, in some Thread-mail discussion on / between pro-democracy forums. His track record is very long, mostly ‘head.’ In Jakarta Post, CNN - INDONESIA area, Vice Minister for Indonesia Ministry of Sovereign Owned Enterprise, now Vice Minister of Telco Ministry. He got VM of Telco after gigantic corruption of former Telco Minister Johny Plate. President Joko Widodo must reshuffle Pak Plate, and the new Minster is Pak Budi Arie, but Telco Ministry must accelerate a lot of programs, so Jokowi decided to set a new seat= VM of Telco.

Purge in Indonesia Before Election 2024, Jokowi's Forge Plans to Increase Power ("Bersih-Bersih" Sebelum Pilpres 2024)

Mba / Ms Sofie Syarif was senior / high-ranking and respected journo in Indonesia. She of course knows Mas Nezar. KOMPAS / KOMPASTV Headquarter just inches from Jakarta Post HQ, a former employer of Mas Nezar. Arguably, each other actually has a WA [Whatsapp number], or, even, in the same WA group, I think. Ms Sofie is now in London, studying again, for Ph.D., in Goldsmith University. 

[Canada regulation ‘must formally register’, not try to simplify, but really similar with brouhaha chaotic register process of PSE in Indonesia, July - August 2022]

A bit convo in Twitter / now X, between Mba / Miss Sofie and Mas Nezar at least giving a [little] hope for Indonesia = a direct apology, sorry, on using social media, for freedom of expression. Mas Nezar, as VM [Vice Minister] directly says sorry, apologizes, after an uncomfortable situation suffered by Mba Sofie, gets some ‘teguran’, ‘flagged’ by Twitter / X, about her tweet, contained with the link of KOMPAS, her employer. KOMPAS [kompas-gramedia] arguably the 3rd biggest ASEAN media after Indonesia’s MNC Group and Singapore’s MEDIA Corp. This twitter / X convo around 10pm Jakarta time or 4pm London. Every single product of journalism from KOMPAS is high-quality, no debate, and still wondered why, Mba Sofie, KOMPAS employer [/nonactive because studying Ph.D, I don’t know prrecisely], tweeted / posted some link-news by KOMPAS, and Mba Sofie get flagged.

Can’t try to simplify, but ‘grey area’ about flagging of content / post in twitter, ‘grey area’ about/to defining ‘it’s good content or not’, very similar to ‘German Network Enforcement Act / German Network Enforcement Law [NEA / NEL], or in GERMAN language Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz.’ Some victims [because he or she is very confident that the tweet is harmful] think that NEA or NEL used to, or "tactic" has been applied to other folks who do occasional research into (possibly) controversial topics or controversial tweets.

I believe that Mba Sofie just tries speaking [/ tweet] her thoughts, and this is freedom of speech, and not to spark controversy.

[Mba / Ms Sofie still overwhelmed how actually the flow of complaining some tweets/posts and ended up on Telco Ministry asked TWITTER/X Indonesia to giving a notice to Mba Sofie]

some user angry about Taliban brutality to civil and women, and he get flagged by German Network Enforcement Act / German Network Enforcement Law [NEA / NEL] / Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz

[in pic, Marty Baron, forrmer Executive Editor Washington Post. My writing about WAPO]

Mba Sofie was writing a joint paper with Yanuar Nugroho [former advisor for Presidential Palace 2014-2019] about complicated protection of Data Privacy in Indonesia. Mba Sofie Syarif also respected critics, and even, maybe with laughing, she tweeted [PIC in below] that sometimes her expression [about political situation in Indonesia] isn't the same as the Board Editorial [of KOMPAS]. 

[Prabu Revolusi, after from Metro tv, then CNN INDONESIA —- even in same year with Mas Nezar, now in MNC group, owned by Hary Tanoe. Prabu agree about Mba Sofie argument that sometime political expression from staff is very different than board or owner of media.]

But to be best practice of democracy, everyone must get protection for expression, guarantee of freedom of expression, and freedom of speech. 

Although apologizing is a bit of hope for a better future on using social media in Indonesia, still the same question. If really ordinary people, just graduated from [we can call] elementary school and not studying Ph.D. in London, and not the same journalistic business, what if similar cases repeated again. Will Mas Nezar directly apologize or not if some error by Telco Ministry.

Ballooned 100 billion pound budget of HS2, the high-speed railway in UK, maybe the trigger why mba sofie, Ph.D in UK [Goldsmith], from London, cares about ballooned KCIC / Indonesia High Speed Railway

[As very respected journo, a lot of tweets/Xs by Mba Sofie get engagement 500k o more. For example, 600k about High-Speed Railway]

[after asking in twitter / x about budgeting of Indonesia High-Speed railway, Ms/Mba Sofie Syarief get a very good explanation, in Indonesia language, by Prof. Fauziah Swasono-Zen, her twitter is [at]dewapuci

Mba Sofie is not only active in twitter / X, but also in Instagram [META / Facebook product], and even already has an account on THREADS. According to her instagram, she’s user number 9,893,697 [cannot guess where she created THREADS account, in London or in Jakarta]. The UK is still using THREADS, not like the European Union [not yet, because there is still some mandatory regulation about data privacy, etc]. For comparison, I'm a user of 940,954 [arguably a very small number if compare a lot of Indonesian users of THREADS]. THREADS has launched around 6pm NYC / 1pm London / 5am in Jakarta.

Because it is still very early morning, the majority of users THREADS in Indonesia may end up with a big number, maybe 10 million or bigger [because just create a THREADS account around 10am Jakarta time, 5-6 hours after global launching]. For another comparison, so-called the best social media guru / expert in the world, Matt Navarra, listed at registrant number 44,368 [very small number], and META / Facebook owner Mark Elliot Zuckerberg is number 1. Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, is number 2.

The problem of ‘netihen’ or problem using the internet in Indonesia is not only the case of Mba Sofie, or days ago [arguably] some [error not, about] blocking around 9 hours of google docs access in Indonesia. Too many problems.

Months ago, just because of a criticism in social media, some teacher in West Java got fired from his school, also got dog whistling. The teacher, literally hardliner fans of Ridwan Kamil, former West Java Governor [around 55 million population, most populous province in Indonesia], and because his care to ‘Kang Emil’ [popular nickname for Ridwan Kamil], he [the teacher] protest for some issue in his social media. Months before the election of West Java gubernatorial years ago, the teacher handshake with Kang Emil.

Arguably, ups and downs are [very] normal in domestic politics in every country. But with the fact emerge of Trump in the US, and other side India facing massive terror, not only suffered by Muslim India, in several states in India [clearly majority of Hindu people, 98 percent of Hindu people] suffered outage of internet, blocking of social media and news media, so far the best democracy on earth goes to the 3rd biggest democracy, Indonesia, with a news that ‘less 30 years old’ already to be a Chief Political Party, and 37 years old politician maybe to be a new elected Vice President, if Indonesian people wanted and or choose him.

[Kaesang says, role model for PSI is MFP in Thai. The Thailand Move Forward Party, led by Pita Limjaroenrat, surprised analysts by winning the most seats, and for votes, around 37.99 percent in last May 2023. PSI just got 1.89 percent / around 2.8 million votes in Indonesia Election 2019. Pita himself son of tycoon - businessman Pongsak Limjaroenrat, a former adviser to the Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, and Linda Limjaroenrat. He is the nephew of Padung Limjaroenrat, a former secretary to the Interior Minister and a close aide of then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. At least, total fortune/wealth of Pita or his family very different than Kaesang and at least total wealth of Jokowi. The total wealth of Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Kaesang’s father, had increased to 82.36 billion rupiah in 2023 based on the State Administrators Wealth Report (LHKPN). But the elected Thai Prime Minister not from MFP, but high-rank Pheu Thai Party, Srettha Thavisin, former aide of Thaksin Shinawatra. Pheu Thai Party led by Thaksin’s daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra.]

Yes still older than Sanna Mirella Marin [serve as Prime Minister of Finland on December 10th, 2019, or just 34 years and 3 weeks old] — now she’s a high-ranking Tony Blair Institute, or corrupt Sebastian Kurz [serve as Chancellor of Austria on December 18th, 2017, or just 31 years, 3 months, and 3 weeks old], but the prospect of Indonesia politics looks better or more promising rather than India [biggest democracy] and U.S. [2nd biggest].

Although not yet a proof-guarantee that Mas Nezar will repeat ‘SORRY’ if similar case repeated, like very fast say SORRY for Mba Sofie to show in social media [so everyone can see it, not by WhatsApp or private channel], Mas Nezar giving a better signal. Even if the ‘hope’ just until October 19th, 2024, final day of Jokowi administration. No guaranteed that if Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo [currently in new survey get 33.9 percent] or Ganjar Pranowo [43.9 percent] will hire again [both] Budi Arie and Mas Nezar as Minister of Telco and VM. Finally, after decades not clear if some, or a lot of mistakes happened in [for this case] Telco Ministry as apparatus on Telco issue, now the VM [Vice Minister], number 2 in the Indonesia Telco Ministry can say sorry.

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[not lookalike disclosure. Jewish women who I loved, was a keynote speaker for the problem of using onlyfans and TikTok in Germany linked with trafficking, sex-harassment.

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