Yogyakarta – A number of activists in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta have demanded and urged the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to immediately summon and question President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's youngest son Kaesang Pangarep.
The summons is intended to seek clarification from Pangarep regarding a private jet that he used to travel to the United States.
The activists from Jogja Corruption Watch (JCW) and the Yogyakarta Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Activist Coalition (KPH Aksi) conveyed their demands to the KPK in an official letter sent via the post office on Monday September 2.
The activists also gave speeches near the Pal Putih Monument in the north of the city before walking backwards to the Gondolayu Post Office which is about 350 meters from the monument.
"The walking backwards symbolises the KPK that has experienced setbacks in handling corruption", said KPH Aksi coordinator Tri Wahyu while walking backwards.
"In the past, at the time of the corruption case involving former Yogyakarta mayor Haryadi Suyuti, the KPK was able to be firm, now we demand the same firmness, there [must be] no cherry picking", he continued.
JCW Community Complaints and Judicial Monitoring Coordinator Baharuddin Kamba said that through the letter sent to the KPK they are asking that the KPK not send a representative, but directly question Pangarep over the allegations of gratification in the form of the private jet.
"The private jet case involving Kaesang Pangarep is suspected to have been from a Singapore businessperson, where the Singapore company has an MoU in collaboration with the Solo city government led by the mayor of Solo at that time, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Kaesang's elder brother", Kamba said.
The activists, through the letter, also urged the KPK to immediately summon Medan Mayor Bobby Nasution, who is also Widodo's son-in-law, regarding the 'Medan Block' in an alleged corruption case involving former North Maluku Governor Abdul Gani Kasuba.
Finally, they asked that Nasution and his wife, Widodo's daughter Kahiyang Ayu, be questioned following the indications of gratification related to the private jet involving the two.
"In these cases, the KPK has yet to make any significant progress, instead in relation to the Kaesang case it has tended towards prevention, namely the KPK's statement appealing to Kaesang as a general chairperson of a political party to pursue a simple lifestyle", said Kamba.
The activists are urging the KPK to question the people mentioned before Widodo steps down from his position as head of state on October 20.
Kamba said that this is to maintain the independence of the KPK as an institution of the republic of the children of the 1998 reform movement which represents a mandate of the people to ensure an independent Indonesia that is free from corruption.
"Urging or banging on the guts of the KPK leaders to summon and legally process Kahiyang, Bobby, Kaesang and Gibran before October 20", said Kamba.
"If by October 20 the KPK has not legally processed them, we will dub the KPK the Queen Iriana's (Jokowi) Family Protection Commission. Queen Iriana refers to Bahlil (Lahadalia's) 'King of Java' version, the KPK has metamorphosised into an institution of Bahlil's version of the King of Java", he concluded, referring first lady Iriana Widodo and a recent warning by Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia not to mess with a "Javanese King", widely understood to mean Widodo.
The KPK has stated that it will summon Pangarep for questioning to clarify the use of a private jet facility he recently used to travel to the US.
"The letter is being conceptualised, the invitation letter", KPK Deputy Chairperson Alexander Marwata said during a press conference at the KPK Red and White Building in Jakarta on Friday August 30.
Marwata said the KPK needs to obtain information from Pangarep in order to clarify public suspicions of alleged gratification related to the facility. He asserted that the KPK could ask for clarification from Widodo's youngest son even though he is not a state official.
This is because Pangarep could be alleged to have a relationship with a state official.
Indonesian Anti-Corruption Society (MAKI) coordinator Boyamin Saiman and Jakarta State University (UNJ) lecturer Ubaidilah Badrun have reported Pangarep to the KPK for alleged gratification over the use of the private jet. The report was filed on Wednesday August 28.
Meanwhile, Medan Mayor Bobby Nasution said he was ready to be summoned by the KPK regarding the "Medan Block" in an alleged corruption case involving Abdul Gani Kasuba. President Widodo's son-in-law said he would follow legal proceedings including if summoned by the KPK. (kum/DAL)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was " Aktivis Jogja Tantang KPK Periksa Kaesang & Bobby Sebelum Jokowi Turun".]
