JAKARTA: Indonesia’s anti-graft court sentenced a former agriculture minister to 10 years in prison Thursday after finding him guilty of corruption-related extortion, abuse of power and bribery involving ministry contracts with private vendors.
Syahrul Yasin Limpo is the sixth member of President Joko Widodo’s Cabinet to be sentenced to prison in a corruption case, casting a shadow over his efforts to clean up government in the closing months of his administration.
The court in the capital, Jakarta, ruled that the former minister was guilty of abusing his power by enriching himself and other officials. It also ordered him to pay a 300 million rupiah (RM87,000) fine, and said he would be subject to another four months’ imprisonment if he fails to pay.
“The defendant has legally and convincingly been proven guilty of corruption,” presiding Judge Rianto Adam Pontoh said.
“He wasn’t a good example as a public official, what he has done is counter the government’s efforts to fight corruption and enriched himself by corruption.”
Limpo had been arrested last October by the Corruption Eradication Commission, known as the KPK. He has denied wrongdoing.
Several ministry officials testified during the trial that secretariats, directorates general and agencies within the ministry was required to give up 20% of their budgets to Limpo, as though they were indebted to him, and he threated their jobs if they rejected his demands.
Vendors and suppliers were also asked to set aside money to fulfil the then-minister’s demands, the trial revealed.
Prosecutors, who sought 12 years imprisonment for Limpo, said the politician accepted a total of 44.7 billion rupiah (RM13 million) between January 2020 and October 2023.
In their indictment, prosecutors accused Limpo of ordering his two subordinates, Kasdi Subagyono and Muhammad Hatta, to collect the illicit money. They were each sentenced to four years in prison in separate cases.
During the trial, Limpo said he was the victim of political persecution and felt that he had been slandered by his subordinates in his ministry who fears of being replaced or removed from their position.
“Since the start of the investigation into this case, there have been efforts to manipulate public opinion using wild and misleading accusations to depict me as a greedy person,” Syahrul told the court.
“I never received any information about their objection to any of my orders,” Limpo said, “If they think it’s wrong, they should consult and discuss with me first.”
After the panel of judges read out the verdict, both Limpo and prosecutors told the court that they are considering an appeal.
Limpo, a former South Sulawesi governor, is the second politician from the Nasdem Party to face prosecution in recent years. Johnny G. Plate, a former communication minister, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in November 2023 for corruption while overseeing the construction of mobile phone transmission towers in remote parts of the country.
Corruption is endemic in Indonesia and the country’s anti-graft commission is frequently attacked by lawmakers who want to reduce its powers.
Widodo campaigned in part on a pledge to run a clean government in a country that ranked 115th out of 180 nations in the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index compiled by Transparency International.
Like Widodo, President-elect Prabowo Subianto has vowed to fight corruption after taking office in October.
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