Jakarta – East Jakarta officials are in the hot seat after a public maintenance worker falsely claimed that a resident's complaint had been resolved by responding with an AI-generated image.
The controversy began when a resident of Kalisari subdistrict in Pasar Rebo took to social media to express frustration over persistent illegal parking on a residential street, despite repeatedly reporting the matter to authorities.
The complainant, who uses the handle @Seinsh, said he had approached the cars' owners directly and filed reports with both neighborhood and subdistrict authorities, but the issue was still unresolved.
When he submitted a report through the Jakarta Kini (JAKI) app, the city's official public service and complaint platform, he received a response containing what he described as an AI-generated image, allegedly to falsely claim that the matter had been resolved.
The complainant also shared the two images included in the official response: One purportedly shows a worker from the Public Facilities and Maintenance Agency (PPSU) standing next to a row of cars parked along a roadside, while the other is a nearly identical image showing the "worker" in the same street, now cleared of illegally parked cars.
The second image appears to have been digitally altered or created using artificial intelligence, as both contain a motorcyclist in the distance, with the rider in the same physical position and in the same location relative to other structural elements.
According to the complainant, the cars seen in the first image are still parked in the street, contrary to the official response.
Social media users have hit back with widespread criticism, questioning oversight and the use of artificial intelligence in handling public complaints.
Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung has called on the city inspectorate to thoroughly investigate the officials involved in the incident.
"Anyone found guilty must be held accountable. This must never happen again," Pramono said on Monday, as quoted by Metro TV.
The governor emphasized that manipulating official communication was a serious breach of ethics that eroded public trust.
Transparency and honesty must remain fundamental principles of all public services in Jakarta, he said, adding that these values were far more important than simply marking a complaint as "resolved".
Pramono also urged all city officials to be upfront about challenges on the ground rather than resorting to deceptive practices.
"It is better to acknowledge that an issue is still unresolved than to use AI to create a false impression. We will not tolerate any form of data manipulation. We will hand down strict sanctions to any officials found violating regulations," he said.
Kalisari subdistrict head Siti Nurhasanah has issued a public apology over the incident, confirming that the image was generated using artificial intelligence and uploaded by the PPSU worker tasked with handling the complaint.
"I sincerely apologize for this incident. It is a lesson for us to ensure that such a situation does not occur again," Siti said on Monday, as quoted by Kompas.com.
"The PPSU worker has been issued a formal warning and has signed a written pledge not to repeat the action," she said, adding that it was unclear why the worker decided to use AI in responding to the illegal parking report.
She also affirmed that a full investigation into the matter was underway.
East Jakarta Mayor Munjirin announced that both Siti and the PPSU worker involved had been temporarily suspended from their duties pending an investigation by the Jakarta Inspectorate.
"This decision was made to safeguard the integrity of public services, particularly in app-based reporting, which serves as an important channel for community complaints," he said on Tuesday, as quoted by state news agency Antara.
Munjirin added that going forward, the East Jakarta administration would strengthen oversight of the JAKI app to ensure that all reports accurately reflected conditions on the ground and were fully verified.
According to the Jakarta Communication, Informatics, and Statistics Agency, the city received a total of 62,571 public complaints from January to March through various channels, including JAKI and the city's Community Quick Response (CRM) system. The agency said nearly all complaints had been resolved satisfactorily. (nal)