Viral Empty Chair Interview Video, Najwa Shihab Aware of the Risk of Being Accused of Bullying Officials

Kapanlagi.com - In the past few days, Najwa Shihab has been the talk of netizens after her video interviewing an empty chair went viral and trended on Twitter. The story is that Najwa and her team invited the Minister of Health, Terawan Agus Putranto, to attend the Mata Najwa program to discuss the development of COVID-19, but he did not show up.

Instead of canceling the event, Najwa took the initiative to create the concept of the interview, which eventually went viral. The 43-year-old woman then clarified the moment through her personal Instagram account.

"The treatment of presenting this empty chair may be new and surprising. But honestly, this is not a very new idea. In countries with a tradition of democracy and stronger and longer debates, such as England or America, presenting an empty chair that should be occupied by a public official is common," said the woman, who is familiarly called Nana, in the caption of her post.

1. Not an Imaginary Interview

Najwa Shihab / Credit: Instagram - najwashihab

Furthermore, Najwa explained that the treatment she did was different from the format of an imaginary interview because she was only asking questions. According to her, Minister Terawan can answer any questions she asks anytime and anywhere.

"As the host of Mata Najwa, of course, I hope he is willing to appear on my program. However, as part of the wider press community and also as a citizen, I am already happy enough if Minister Terawan answers public concerns even if it is not done on #MataNajwa. Because overseeing the political process and policy-making is a collective task, and I believe @Narasi.tv is not alone in doing it," added this mother of one.

2. Aware of the Risks

Najwa is well aware of the risks that may arise when she creates the concept of an empty chair interview. One of them is the accusation of persecution or bullying against government officials. However, she is not worried.

"I have thought thoroughly when presenting this empty chair, including the risk of being accused of persecution or bullying. I am convinced that high-ranking officials, especially the highest executives after the president, are not the less powerful party. An important aspect that is a prerequisite for an action to be called persecution or bullying. It is difficult to consider elite officials as weak," she added.

"I am not worried about Mr. Terawan because a minister must be a competent and experienced figure. What we are concerned about is the development of this pandemic. And that is why Mr. Terawan is important because, no matter how many ad hoc teams are formed, the person in charge of health matters is still the Minister of Health," Najwa concluded.

(kpl/gtr)