M. Syaifullah, Yogyakarta – On Tuesday, April 15, 2025, hundreds of individuals identifying as members of the Defenders of Ulama and Activists Team (TPUA) visited the Faculty of Forestry at Gadjah Mada University (UGM).
Their visit aimed to seek clarification regarding the ongoing controversy surrounding former President Joko Widodo's academic credentials.
On the occasion, three representatives of the team, Roy Suryo, Rismon Hasiholan Sianipar, and Tifauzia Tiasuma, were received to dialogue with the university.
In addition to them, there were also senior figures who visited the UGM Faculty of Forestry, namely Amien Rais and Syukri Fadloli from Yogyakarta.
TPUA has long questioned the legitimacy of Jokowi's academic documents, alleging that his diploma is falsified. Their visit to UGM's Faculty of Forestry was meant to observe firsthand any available evidence related to Jokowi's diploma.
"The defending team of ulama and activists from Jakarta came to clarify the alleged fake diploma of former President Jokowi," said Syukri Fadoli on Tuesday.
Syukri explained that the clarification effort aimed to verify the authenticity of the diploma. He asserted that the former president had failed to prove its legitimacy in court."The court should assess the truth of the diploma if there are allegations of using a fake diploma," he added.
At UGM, the delegation was met by Vice Rector I Wening Udasmoro, Vice Rector III Arie Sudjito, and the Dean of the Faculty of Forestry, Sigit Sunarta. The group initially gathered at the Faculty of Forestry before moving to the UGM Roundabout to deliver speeches.
The controversy over President Jokowi's academic records reemerged following a public statement by Rismon Hasiholan Sianipar, a former lecturer at Mataram University, who cast doubt on the authenticity of Jokowi's diploma and thesis. He pointed to the use of the Times New Roman font in the document, claiming it was not yet in use during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Rismon's claims were shared in a video titled "Fake Diploma of Joko Widodo Based on Font and Operating System Analysis", uploaded to YouTube on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. He described the font analysis as strong evidence to question the document's validity, a statement that triggered backlash from UGM and Jokowi's associates.
In response, Jokowi stated that he is considering legal action against those continuing to question his academic qualifications from UGM. He emphasized that both the university rector and the dean of the Faculty of Forestry had confirmed the diploma's legitimacy.
"Yes, it is being considered for further review by lawyers (legal counsel) because it has indeed been conveyed by the UGM Rector, and it has also been conveyed by the Dean of the Faculty of Forestry (that the diploma is legitimate). Everything is clear," said Jokowi at his residence in Sumber, Solo, Central Java, on Friday, April 11, 2025.