In an information ecosystem filled with false news, hate speech, and the desire to judge, the first victim to fall is the truth.
In the case of the PPDS, UNDIP has already conducted an internal investigation. Still, as the Rector has repeatedly stated on various occasions: UNDIP is very open to the results of investigations from external parties, whether from the police or the Ministry of Health.
If bullying is indeed proven, the punishment for the perpetrator is clear and firm: expulsion.
However, even when the investigation is far from complete, judgment and punishment have already been carried out repeatedly.
The first punishment was the closure of the Specialist Medical Education Program (PPDS) at UNDIP. The Ministry of Health carried out this closure on August 14, 2024, long before the investigation was completed and before the police or the courts made any decisions.
This closure harms the 80 or so other PPDS students. Moreover, the public must endure long waiting times due to the shortage of doctors at RS Kariadi.
The second punishment occurred just yesterday. This punishment was given to Dr. Yan Wisnu, the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at UNDIP.
I know him as a soft-spoken man. He is always kind, never explosive, and cautious and measured in his words. Understandably, he is a specialist in oncology. When I checked Wikipedia, I found that oncology is the branch of science that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer.
I have met him several times recently. His face looks tired and sleep-deprived. He confided in me that he had been subjected to a lot of doxxing and harassment on his various social media accounts. These days, he feels overwhelmed by anxiety, panic, stress, and burnout.
In my eyes, he is a person of integrity. It is hard for me to imagine him willingly protecting a bully at the cost of his reputation, sacrificing the other students and, above all, his alma mater, UNDIP, which he dearly loves, especially given all the harassment he has endured.
However, yesterday afternoon, even before the investigation results were out, he had already been dismissed from practicing at Kariadi Hospital. The hospital director carried out the dismissal. We have heard that the director was under tremendous pressure from the Ministry of Health, leading to that decision. This incident reminds us of the case involving the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Unair, who the minister dismissed for daring to criticize government policies.
The punishment and judgment against PPDS and UNDIP may continue. The UNDIP Rector referred to it as a “sitting duck,” a helpless duck against various threats.
Yes, everything is focused on UNDIP and only UNDIP. However, as various dialogues clear, the overloaded working hours are a hospital policy, and this falls under the Ministry of Health’s jurisdiction.
PPDS students learn unusually: learning by doing and directly practicing in hospitals.
A resident, the term for a PPDS student practicing in a hospital, must work an average of more than 80 hours a week. They sleep only 2-3 hours a day, sometimes working up to 24 hours without sleep.
At this moment, the Rector stated that the investigation is flawed because it is one-sided.
This event is like the tip of the iceberg. UNDIP urges that the investigation be carried out thoroughly to uncover the structural and systemic roots of this situation as a basis for future improvements. So that UNDIP does not continue to be a sitting duck, bombarded with punishment without evidence and trial.
Yesterday it was Unair. Today, it’s UNDIP. Tomorrow, who knows?
(Vice Rector IV UNDIP: Wijayanto, Ph.D.)
