Jakarta, IO – Chairman of the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA) Arist Merdeka Sirait has died at the age of 63. He breathed his last at 8:30am WIB at the Kramat Jati Police Hospital, Jakarta, Saturday (26/8).
One of Komnas PA staff, Raihanif Putra, said Arist had fallen ill and underwent treatment several times. He will be buried in his family cemetery in Porsea, Toba, North Sumatra, per CNNIndonesia.
Arist dedicated his life to protect the rights of children who face injustice. This struggle was carried out through Komnas PA, the institution he helmed for decades.
This distinctive figure with a thick beard was born in Pematang Siantar on August 17, 1960. Before serving as Chairman of Komnas PA since 2010, Arist was the Secretary General of Komnas PA with Seto Mulyadi.
Arist was known to be an impartial figure. His sole concern was the welfare of Indonesian children.
One of the cases he handled was the acute kidney failure which affected hundreds of children in 2022. At that time, Arist accompanied the victim’s parents to seek justice.
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He also urged the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) to issue a warning in the form of label on each cough syrup packaging containing hazardous substances such as ethylene glycol (EG).
His last case was the swapped babies in Bogor. Arist passed away after the case was resolved through a DNA test. (un)