Following the controversial hero’s welcome for dangdut singer/convicted child molester Saipul Jamil upon his release from prison last week, Indonesian production house Visinema has announced that popular children’s cartoon Nussa will be pulled from TV stations that hosted the convict in post-incarceration interviews.
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Saipul, 41, appeared as a guest on two shows — namely Kopi Viral on Trans TV and BTS on Trans 7 — shortly after being declared a free man, which was met with strong pushback from the public. He served five years and eight months in prison for child molestation and bribery at Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta.
Angga Sasongko, CEO of Visinema Group, released a statement on Twitter yesterday, with the official Twitter handle of the production house also posting something similar.
Menyikapi hadirnya Saiful Jamil di televisi dengan cara yang tidak menghormati korban, maka kami memberhentikan semua pembicaraan kesepakatan distribusi film Nussa & Keluarga Cemara dg stasiun TV terkait karena tidak berbagi nilai yang sama dengan karya kami yang ramah anak.
— Nonton BioskopOnline.Com (@anggasasongko) September 5, 2021
“Responding to the presence of Saipul Jamil on television in a way that was disrespectful towards [his] victim, we have stopped all discussions regarding the distribution agreement for our films Nussa and Keluarga Cemara with the relevant TV stations because they do not share the same values with our child-friendly works,” Angga wrote.
“This notice is intended to support the movement against the celebration of perpetrators of sexual violence against children in the media, as well as to raise the collective awareness regarding the importance of media that respect our children.”
Angga said the same will apply to other TV stations that feature Saipul in the future, adding that the measure also has the support of The Little Giantz Studio, a Jakarta-based animation studio that works together with Visinema for the film adaptation of popular children’s series Nussa.
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Saipul’s controversial appearance on Indonesian television has also led to an apology from Trans TV, who claims to have learned the lesson on broadcasting ethics while promising to do better in the future.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Broadcast Commission (KPI) has said that it will review the two TV shows in question.
In addition, Saipul also popped up during a live broadcast of a celebrity couple’s wedding on ANTV yesterday, taking the opportunity to convey a public apology.
“I, Saipul Jamil, would like to convey an apology to all viewers at home. Maybe there were words or actions from me that have disappointed viewers at home,” Saipul said.
“I have made amends for my wrongdoings [by serving time] in prison. I ask for your guidance, love for me to live my days ahead.”
Saipul was found guilty of molesting a 17-year-old boy in 2016, for which he was sentenced to 3 years in prison. His sentence was raised to 5 years upon appeal, and another 3 years was added on when he was found guilty of bribing a judge in his child molestation case at the district court level.
One petition on Change.org, which has been signed by more than 416,500 people as of this article’s publication time, calls for TV networks to boycott Saipul for the sake of his victim, who may still be traumatized by the convict.
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