Desmond Junaidi Mahesa

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Desmond Junaidi Mahesa
Mahesa in 2016
Member of the People's Representative Council
In office
1 October 2009 – 24 June 2023
Constituency
Personal details
Born
Junaidi

(1965-12-12)12 December 1965
Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Indonesia
Died24 June 2023(2023-06-24) (aged 57)
South Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia
Political partyGerindra
SpouseNurnaningsih
Children2
Alma mater

Desmond Junaidi Mahesa (12 December 1965 – 24 June 2023) was an Indonesian politician from Gerindra who served as a member of the People's Representative Council from 2009 until his death in 2023. Prior to his election to the People's Representative Council, Mahesa was known as an activist and was kidnapped during the early days of Reformasi. He was also involved as a lawyer in several high-profile cases.

Early life and education[edit]

Desmond Junaidi Mahesa was born as Junaidi on 12 December 1965 in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan.[1] His father, Muchtar bin Sirin, was a farmer and laborer, while his mother, Sa’diah binti Ubak, was an egg seller. He completed his elementary education at the Karya Masyarakat elementary school in 1981. He then moved to Banjarmasin and studied at public schools, with a distant family member paying for his tuition. He graduated from high school in 1983 and applied for the Lambung Mangkurat University.[2][3]

Mahesa was admitted to the law faculty of the Lambung Mangkurat University. During his time in the university, Mahesa worked to pay for his living expenses and tuition, including construction work and cleaning services in offices, as well as pulling rickshaws at night around markets in Banjarmasin. Despite his work routine, Junaidi was also active in student activism and joined various student organizations, such as the Student Senate of Lambung Mangkurat University and Muslim Students Association. He also wrote for the Banjarmasin Post and Dinamika Berita newspapers. Junaidi graduated from the university with a law degree in 1994.[2][3]

Career[edit]

Lawyer and activism[edit]

Upon receiving his law degree, Junaidi moved to Jakarta and began to work in legal aid services. He was also active in environmental, agrarian, and political organizations. During a trial, Junaidi was refused entry to the court due to a misunderstanding by the judge and attorney. The judge had mistaken Junaidi as another person due to his mononymous name. As a result of this incident, Junaidi changed his name to Desmond Junaidi Mahesa.[2]

On 4 February 1998, several months before the fall of Suharto, Mahesa and several other activists were kidnapped by unidentified gunmen near the Salemba campus of the University of Indonesia. Mahesa was freed on 3 April. Despite pressures from various parties to not blew up the case, Mahesa revealed his kidnapping on 12 May 1998. Mahesa was also involved in resolving the case of thirteen kidnapped activists who never returned.[2]

After his kidnapping, Mahesa continued his work in the legal and environmental sector. He also opened a law office in Jakarta. He defended various clients in several high-profile cases, such as Tomy Winata in the Tempo office raid case in 2003.[4] Mahesa was later invited by the People's Representative Council to testify on Winata's behalf.[5] Other clients of Mahesa included former Kopassus commander Muchdi Purwopranjono[6] and business magnate Eka Tjipta Widjaja. During his career as a lawyer, Mahesa received a postgraduate degree in law at the IBLAM Law School in 2004.[1]

In the People's Representative Council[edit]

Mahesa joined Gerindra in 2008 and was nominated by the party for a People's Representative Council seat from the East Kalimantan constituency.[7] Mahesa's campaign in East Kalimantan was described as "lackluster", but he received a lot of phone calls from the namecards that he distributed.[8] Despite this, Mahesa was elected and was installed as MP on 1 October 2009.[9] He was reelected in 2014[10] and 2019.[11]

During his career in the People's Representative Council, Mahesa was seated in commission III, which handles law, human rights, and defense matters.[1] Mahesa, as Gerindra's spokesperson, announced the party's rejection on the 2010 budget plan.[12] Mahesa also refused to invoke the parliamentary inquiry rights in the Bank Century Scandal[13] and questioned the legality of the appointment of Hendarman Supandji as attorney general.[14]

Personal life and death[edit]

Mahesa was married to Nurnaningsih and had two children.[15]

Mahesa died at the Mayapada Hospital in Lebak Bulus, Jakarta on 24 June 2023, at the age of 57.[16] Politicians and government officials from different parties delivered their condolences.[17] Mahesa was interred at the Al-Azhar cemetery in Karawang.[18]

Works[edit]

  • Mahesa, Desmond Junaidi (2012). Presiden offside, kita diam atau memakzulkan: catatan kritis seorang mantan aktivis (in Indonesian). Visimedia. ISBN 978-979-065-150-0.
  • Franscis, Fary Dj; Mahesa, Desmond Junaidi (2012). Menggugat logika APBN: politik anggaran Partai Gerindra di Badan Anggaran DPR RI (in Indonesian). Penerbit Ledalero. ISBN 978-979-9447-03-6.
  • Mahesa, Desmond Junaidi (2013). DPR offside: otokritik parlemen Indonesia (in Indonesian). RMBooks. ISBN 978-602-7936-04-1.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Wahyuni, Noviana Indah Tri. "Desmond Junaidi Mahesa". Merdeka. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d "Mengenal H Desmond JUNAEDI Mahesa". Media Banten. 2014. Archived from the original on 12 March 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Daftar Riwayat Hidup Bakal Calon Anggota DPR" (PDF). General Elections Commission. 16 April 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 November 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  4. ^ Amr. "Pengacara Tomy Winata: Ada Keanehan dalam Pemberitaan Tempo". hukumonline.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  5. ^ "Pengacara Tomy Winata Pertanyakan Undangan DPR". Tempo. 14 August 2003. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  6. ^ "Suciwati Bersitegang dengan Desmond J Mahesa". Detik (in Indonesian). 16 September 2008. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Caleg Aktivis". Detik News. 12 September 2008. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  8. ^ "Kampanye Tak Bawa Apa-apa, Desmond Kebanjiran SMS". Detik. 23 March 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2006.
  9. ^ Wajah DPR dan DPD, 2009-2014: latar belakang pendidikan dan karier (in Indonesian). Penerbit Buku Kompas. 2010. p. 539. ISBN 978-979-709-471-3.
  10. ^ Nurbaiti (15 May 2014). "Hasil PEMILU 2014: Ini 73 Caleg Partai Gerindra yang Lolos ke Senayan". Bisnis.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  11. ^ "Rano Karno dan Desmond J Mahesa Kuasai Banten di Pileg 2019". merdeka.com. 13 May 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  12. ^ Media, Kompas Cyber (15 June 2010). "Siapa Bilang Dana Aspirasi Gol?". KOMPAS.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  13. ^ "Desmond Mahesa Tolak Gulirkan Hak Menyatakan Pendapat Sekarang". Rmol.id. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  14. ^ "Profil Desmond Mahesa, Politikus Kawakan Gerindra yang Meninggal Hari Ini". kumparan (in Indonesian). Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  15. ^ Utami, Rizka Pratiwi. "Tak Pernah Tersorot Kamera, Potret Istri Desmond J Mahesa Akhirnya Terungkap, untuk Istriku Tercinta". Sripoku (in Indonesian). Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  16. ^ Redaksi, Tim. "Innalillahi... Politikus Gerindra Desmond Mahesa Meninggal". CNBC Indonesia (in Indonesian). Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  17. ^ detikcom, Tim. "Duka dan Kenangan Sahabat Lepas Kepergian Desmond Mahesa". detiknews (in Indonesian). Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  18. ^ "Politikus Gerindra Desmond Mahesa Meninggal Dunia, Disemayamkan di Karawang Sabtu Siang". www.tvonenews.com (in Indonesian). 24 June 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
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