ISSN 2477-1686
Vol. 9 No. 10 Mei 2023
Agentic State in Eliezer Case
By
Any Rufaedah
Department of Psychology Universitas Nahdlatul Ulama Indonesia &
Division for Applied Social Psychology Research (DASPR)
Between July 2022 and February 2023, people in Indonesia paid much attention to the murder of police officer Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat (aka Brigadier J) by his colleague Richard Eliezer Pudihang Lumiu (aka Bharada E) under the order of their boss, former police inspector general Ferdy Sambo. The case involved Sambo’s wife Putri Candrawathi, their driver Kuat Ma’ruf, another policeman Ricky Rizal, and other officers who took a role in removing evidence.
The court revealed that Sambo was the one who prepared and manipulated the story of the execution, and who asked Eliezer to shoot Yosua; however, it was unclear if Sambo fired the last shot which resulted in the death of Yosua. Judges sentenced Sambo to death and jailed Eliezer for only 18 months (Firdaus, 2023). The low sentence for Eliezer was gained due to his status as a justice collaborator that exposed the actual incident. Sambo’s wife was sentenced to 20 years and Kuat Ma’ruf to 15 years (Firdaus, 2023), while other suspects received various sentences.
The trial has been completed, however, factual reasons of why Eliezer obeyed Sambo to shoot his friend remain questionable. This 24-year-old officer claimed to be afraid of Sambo due to the large gap in their positions, in which Sambo was an inspector general while Eliezer was at the lowest position of his police career. Experts who were invited to the Eliezer trial supported the explanation (Ismail, 2022). It is highly possible, in particular in the military environment where command from seniors and supervisors is like an obligation; however, it is not as simple as that. Eliezer filled the order to harm Yosua because Sambo promised to be the one who would take care consequences of the action, and also declared to protect Eliezer. These Sambo’s words were key points to understanding why Eliezer agreed to wound and even kill Yosua.
The obedience theory by the prominent social psychologist Stanley Milgram explains it, that people agree to harm others if someone else, in particular a legitimate source, is responsible for their actions (McLeod, 2008; Almereyda, 2015). They continue to harm others because they believe that they just follow an order and because they position themselves as an instrument that carries out a command from others. Milgram named it “agentic state.” Like 65% of people who participated in the Milgram experiment between 1961 and 1963, when the experimenter said, “I am responsible for your action,” Eliezer felt fine to harm an innocent person. He did not critically question how he could be totally free from any consequences even though he wounded or killed Yosua. He did not ask how a law enforcer would not arrest him but thought that Sambo would take care of any consequences. The authority and status of Sambo played a crucial role to convince Eliezer to follow his order.
Sambo’s ability to handle problems in the past also potentially makes Eliezer believe that the former inspector-general could handle any issues. Rumors of Sambo’s role in protecting online gambling syndicates, if it was true, could become a pusher for Eliezer to believe Sambo’s promise. Moreover, Sambo seemed to have a connection to key officials who allegedly helped him to achieve high positions in the police department faster than others, even compared to his seniors and former supervisors.
The Eliezer case gives police officers a lesson on the importance of understanding basic explanations of attitude and behavioral studies to prevent them from blind obedience. Training and educational programs under the police department should introduce theoretical frameworks to understand behavior that potentially violates justice and human rights. Although military rule and tradition highly demand conformity, justice must certainly be placed above it. Orders to harm others must be critically questioned and reflection on how power abuses in the past had fallen should also become a primary activity immersed to both police officers and the army. These strategies are crucial to protect law enforcement-related institutions and the country in general in the present era and in the future.
References:
Almereyda, M. (2015). Experimenter [Film]. BB Film Productions, FJ Productions, Intrinsic Value Films, Jeff Rice Films, 2B Productions.
Firdaus, A. (2023, April 12). Former Indonesian police inspector-general loses appeal against death sentence in murder case. Benar News. Retrieved May 15, 2023, from https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/indonesian/ferdy-sambo-death-sentence-appeal-04122023074228.html
Ismail, H. C. (2022, December 28). Jadi saksi ahli meringankan untuk Richard Eliezer, Albert Aries: Saya hadir secara pro deo pro bono. Tempo. Retrieved May 15, 2023, from https://nasional.tempo.co/read/1673146/jadi-saksi-ahli-meringankan-untuk-richard-eliezer-albert-aries-saya-hadir-secara-pro-deo-pro-bono
McLeod, S. (2008). The Milgram experiment. CommonLit. Retrieved May 10, 2023, from https://www.uncp.edu/sites/default/files/201901/Milgrim%20Experiment%20Common%20Lit.pdf
