Sex offender gets warm welcome, public wants him out of exposure

Convicted sex offender Saipul Jamil on 2 September was released from prison and instantly, the merriment of his welcome-back party made of his team, fans and a group of journalists went viral all over the Internet. In response, a petition to keep him out of television has been signed by more than 370,000 people as of today (6 September).

Saipul reportedly received invitations from several TV shows and YouTube channels just one day after his release. By 3 September, he was already answering all invitations to appear in YouTube channel TS Talks (owned by Luna Maya and her friend Marianne), Trans TV’s show Kopi Viral and Trans7’s BTS (Becanda Tapi Santai). The Instagram account of Trans7’s show Lapor Pak is reportedly bombarded by fans demanding the show not to bring him. 

Indonesian entertainer and director Ernest Prakasa spoke up on his Twitter, criticising TV stations that “treat a sexual offender like a hero”. He also criticised the absence of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) in regulating the appearance of the child molester on television as well as highlighting the KPI’s internal bullying case.

Separately, film director Angga Sasongko announced that he has dropped all talks on distribution contracts for his shows “Nussa” and “Keluarga Cemara” with Trans TV. He wrote on Twitter that the decision is a response to the TV station’s move to “present Saiful Jamil on television in a disrespectful way for the victim”, adding that Trans TV “doesn’t share the same values with our works which are kids-friendly”.

Saipul Jamil was arrested on 16 February 2016 after a 17-year-old victim reported him to the police. On 14 June 2016, he was sentenced to three years in prison for molestation. On his appeal, his sentence was raised to five years. He was also found guilty of giving the clerk at the court Rp250 million in bribe to sway the panel’s ruling on his molestation case. He was sentenced to three years in prison in this case.