Officials' Marriage Issues Should Not Obscure Public Policy Oversight

Two personal issues involving high-ranking Acehnese officials in recent days have sparked widespread public discussion. The issue of the Aceh Governor's marriage to Malaysia was followed by news of an alleged unregistered marriage linked to the Aceh Regional Secretary, M. Nasir Syamaun.

Public discussion is moving quickly. Social media is filled with opinions, assumptions, and moral judgments. However, amidst the torrent of speculation, a view has emerged that the discourse should not shift from the substance of governance.

Citizen journalism activist Muadi Buloh believes that criticism of public officials should be placed within the framework of official accountability, not in the private sphere that has no direct correlation to policy.

"In a democracy, officials are indeed open to criticism. But criticism must be based on the mandate of power they hold, not on personal matters that do not directly impact the public interest," Muadi said on Wednesday, February 11, 2026.

According to him, public oversight should be directed at policy integrity, budget transparency, regulatory consistency, and the effectiveness of program implementation. He reminded that public control is the domain of public policy, not private.

Muadi cited several issues that are considered more pressing and require serious oversight, such as the controversy surrounding the barcode system in fuel distribution, which has sparked public complaints, and the slow construction of temporary housing for disaster victims in several areas.

"Public questions should be directed at how policies are formulated, how budgets are allocated, how internal oversight mechanisms operate, and to what extent the impact is felt by the public," he said.

He emphasized that democracy requires measured civic vigilance. He said public energy should not be siphoned off by personal sensations that have no direct relevance to governance.

"What needs to be monitored is the decision-making process, the quality of public spending, bureaucratic governance, mitigation of conflicts of interest, and consistency between political promises and program implementation," said Muadi, who frequently writes articles on various social media platforms.

According to him, evaluation standards for officials must be based on performance and adherence to the principles of good governance. Transparency, accountability, responsiveness, and prioritizing the interests of the people are more relevant parameters to be tested.

"Democracy isn't built on gossip. Democracy is built on rational, data-driven policy oversight," said Muadi.

He added that the public has the right to criticize. However, strong criticism is criticism that targets the substance of power, not personal lives.[]