Latest news with #Jokowi
The Star
2 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Indonesia court jails former trade minister for four-and-a-half years in sugar graft case
Former trade minister Thomas Lembong was found guilty of improperly granting sugar import permits. -- PHOTO: REUTERS JAKARTA (Reuters): An Indonesian court on Friday sentenced a former trade minister to 4.5 years in jail for improperly granting sugar import permits that authorities said had caused nearly 600 billion rupiah (US$36.84 million) in state losses. Thomas Trikasih Lembong served as trade minister in 2015 and 2016 under President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. Once seen as Jokowi's close aide, Lembong turned into one of the government's staunchest critics after leaving office. Judges at the corruption court in the capital Jakarta, said Lembong, as minister, was guilty of improperly granting import permits for sugar to private companies when the Southeast Asian country had a surplus of sugar. Indonesia's sugar output in 2015 was 2.49 million metric tons, while consumption was 2.12 million. In last year's presidential election, Lembong was the campaign manager for candidate Anies Baswedan. The election was won in a landslide by Prabowo Subianto, whom Jokowi backed. Lembong, who was arrested days after Prabowo's inauguration last year, had claimed in court that his prosecution was due to his involvement in the opposition camp, local media reported. Prosecutors had denied that his arrest was politically motivated. "The defendant was proven legally and convincingly to be guilty of having committed a corruption act," Judge Purwanto S. Abdullah said, to jeers from the crowd. Before handing down the sentence, the judges had argued that the import permits did not go through the proper procedures of consulting with other state bodies and that he had prioritised "capitalistic" interests over social justice. However, the judges said he did not enrich himself, leading to a shorter sentence than the seven years prosecutors had demanded. Prosecutors said Lembong had enriched the private companies. Holding up his handcuffed hands, Lembong told reporters after the sentencing that he would consider whether or not to appeal, saying judges had ignored his defence team. His lawyer Ari Yusuf Amir did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Friday. ($1 = 16,285.0000 rupiah) (Reporting by Ananda Teresia and Stanley Widianto; Editing by Sharon Singleton) - Reuters
New Straits Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
Indonesia court jails former trade minister in sugar graft case
JAKARTA: An Indonesian court today sentenced a former trade minister to 4.5 years in jail for improperly granting sugar import permits that authorities said had caused nearly 600 billion rupiah (RM156,155) state losses. Thomas Trikasih Lembong served as trade minister in 2015 and 2016 under President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. Once seen as Jokowi's close aide, Lembong turned into one of the government's staunchest critics after leaving office. Judges at the corruption court in the capital Jakarta said Lembong, as minister, was guilty of improperly granting import permits for sugar to private companies when the Southeast Asian country had a surplus of sugar. Indonesia's sugar output in 2015 was 2.49 million metric tonnes, while consumption was 2.12 million. In last year's presidential election, Lembong was the campaign manager for candidate Anies Baswedan. The election was won in a landslide by Prabowo Subianto, whom Jokowi backed. Lembong, who was arrested days after Prabowo's inauguration last year, had claimed in court that his prosecution was due to his involvement in the opposition camp, local media reported. Prosecutors had denied his arrest was politically motivated. "The defendant was proven legally and convincingly to be guilty of having committed a corruption act," Judge Purwanto S. Abdullah said, to jeers from the crowd. Before handing the sentence, the judges had argued the import permits did not go through the proper procedures of consulting with other state bodies and that he had prioritised "capitalistic" interests over social justice. However, the judges said he did not enrich himself, leading to a shorter sentence than the seven years prosecutors had demanded. Prosecutors said Lembong had enriched the private companies. Holding up his handcuffed hands, Lembong said after the sentencing that he would consider whether or not to appeal, saying judges had ignored his defence team. His lawyer Ari Yusuf Amir did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment today. - REUTERS
CNA
2 days ago
- Business
- CNA
Indonesia court jails former trade minister for 4.5 years in sugar graft case
JAKARTA: An Indonesian court on Friday (Jul 18) sentenced a former trade minister to 4.5 years in jail for improperly granting sugar import permits that authorities said had caused nearly 600 billion rupiah (US$36.84 million) in state losses. Thomas Trikasih Lembong served as trade minister in 2015 and 2016 under President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. Once seen as Jokowi's close aide, Lembong turned into one of the government's staunchest critics after leaving office. Judges at the corruption court in the capital Jakarta said Lembong, as minister, was guilty of improperly granting import permits for sugar to private companies when the Southeast Asian country had a surplus of sugar. Indonesia's sugar output in 2015 was 2.49 million metric tons, while consumption was 2.12 million. In last year's presidential election, Lembong was the campaign manager for candidate Anies Baswedan. The election was won in a landslide by Prabowo Subianto, whom Jokowi backed. Lembong, who was arrested days after Prabowo's inauguration last year, had claimed in court that his prosecution was due to his involvement in the opposition camp, local media reported. Prosecutors had denied his arrest was politically motivated. "The defendant was proven legally and convincingly to be guilty of having committed a corruption act," Judge Purwanto S Abdullah said, to jeers from the crowd. Before handing the sentence, the judges had argued the import permits did not go through the proper procedures of consulting with other state bodies and that he had prioritised "capitalistic" interests over social justice. However, the judges said he did not enrich himself, leading to a shorter sentence than the seven years prosecutors had demanded. Prosecutors said Lembong had enriched the private companies. Holding up his handcuffed hands, Lembong told reporters after the sentencing that he would consider whether or not to appeal, saying judges had ignored his defence team.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Indonesia court jails former trade minister for 4.5 years in sugar graft case
JAKARTA, July 18 (Reuters) - An Indonesian court on Friday sentenced a former trade minister to 4.5 years in jail for improperly granting sugar import permits that authorities said had caused nearly 600 billion rupiah ($36.84 million) in state losses. Thomas Trikasih Lembong served as trade minister in 2015 and 2016 under President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. Once seen as Jokowi's close aide, Lembong turned into one of the government's staunchest critics after leaving office. Judges at the corruption court in the capital Jakarta said Lembong, as minister, was guilty of improperly granting import permits for sugar to private companies when the Southeast Asian country had a surplus of sugar. Indonesia's sugar output in 2015 was 2.49 million metric tons, while consumption was 2.12 million. In last year's presidential election, Lembong was the campaign manager for candidate Anies Baswedan. The election was won in a landslide by Prabowo Subianto, whom Jokowi backed. Lembong, who was arrested days after Prabowo's inauguration last year, had claimed in court that his prosecution was due to his involvement in the opposition camp, local media reported. Prosecutors had denied his arrest was politically motivated. "The defendant was proven legally and convincingly to be guilty of having committed a corruption act," Judge Purwanto S. Abdullah said, to jeers from the crowd. Before handing the sentence, the judges had argued the import permits did not go through the proper procedures of consulting with other state bodies and that he had prioritised "capitalistic" interests over social justice. However, the judges said he did not enrich himself, leading to a shorter sentence than the seven years prosecutors had demanded. Prosecutors said Lembong had enriched the private companies. Holding up his handcuffed hands, Lembong told reporters after the sentencing that he would consider whether or not to appeal, saying judges had ignored his defence team. His lawyer Ari Yusuf Amir did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Friday. ($1 = 16,285.0000 rupiah)
The Star
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Jokowi suspects political motive behind diploma scandal, calls to impeach son Gibran
JAKARTA: Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo has suggested that political motivations are behind the allegation casting doubt on the authenticity of his academic credentials as well as the calls to impeach his son, Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka. 'My political instinct tells me these are attempts to damage or downgrade my political reputation,' the former president said on Monday (July 14), as quoted in a report on the Kompas TV website. However, he said he was not bothered by the scandals: 'To me, it's nothing out of the ordinary.' After stepping down at the end of his second and final term in October 2024, several public figures alleged that Jokowi's senior high school certificate and other academic diplomas were fake. His accusers included Roy Suryo, a telematics expert and former youth and sports minister, and Rismon Sianipar, a digital forensics expert and lecturer at Mataram University, as well as individuals affiliated with a group called the Ulema and Activist Defenders Team (TPUA). The fake diploma scandal resurfaced earlier this year while the former president was reportedly recovering from an illness at his home in Surakarta, Central Java, when a lawsuit was filed with the Surakarta District Court to challenge the documents' authenticity. In response, Jokowi reported the plaintiffs to the Jakarta Police with reference to the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law, in particular a provision on the distribution of electronic content that incites hate or hostility, or contains false information. On Friday, the police announced a plan to open an investigation into four of the six defamation reports filed by Jokowi. 'It was concluded [that] we found indications of a criminal offence,' Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr Comr Ade Ary Syam Indradi said on July 11, as quoted by state news agency Antara. Ade added that investigators might need to question Jokowi as the primary complainant, as well as other witnesses as the case developed. The announcement prompted a response from Roy, who questioned the validity of the evidence used to open a formal police investigation, pointing out that copies of the diplomas under question would be inadmissible. 'Everyone knows that under the law, a photocopy [of a document] is not considered evidence,' he said on Monday, as quoted by Kompas TV. 'If it's only a copy, it is highly irregular for the investigation to proceed.' The recent development marks an about-turn from a decision made earlier in May, when the National Police's Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) dismissed the case after investigators deemed that Jokowi's diplomas were authentic. The TPUA challenged that decision, however, and requested the police to review the case again. The police granted the request and held a special case review last week, to which all plaintiffs were summoned to clarify the claims in their lawsuit. Along with Roy and Rismon, the TPUA presented its analysis on a photograph of Jokowi's undergraduate diploma from Gadjah Mada University's Forestry Department at the centre of their legal challenge. Although the plaintiffs have expressed confidence that the case would ultimately be brought to court despite denials from Jokowi's legal team, the Bareskrim has not released the outcome of its case review. The Bareskrim review will not affect the Jakarta Police's investigation into the defamation complaint filed by Jokowi. Around the same time, retired military officers grouped in the Indonesian Military Retirees Forum (FPPTNI) called on the legislature to impeach Gibran over a judicial ethics scandal linked to his vice presidential candidacy in the 2024 election. In a letter submitted to the House of Representatives last month, the group asked lawmakers to begin the process of bringing charges against the Vice President, though the petition for impeachment has not been brought to a House plenary session as required under law. Maj Gen (ret) Soenarko of the FPPTNI has dismissed Jokowi's claim that the group's petition to impeach his son was politically motivated. 'Our agenda is to safeguard Indonesia from irresponsible actors and nepotism,' he said on Tuesday, as quoted by - The Jakarta Post/ANN
