Alex Noerdin Becomes A Suspect Again, Now He Is Entangled In The Corruption Of The Sriwijaya Mosque Grant Fund

PALEMBANG - The South Sumatra High Prosecutor's Office has named the Governor of South Sumatra for the period 2008-2018 Alex Noerdin as a suspect in the alleged criminal case of corruption in grant funds for the construction of the Sriwijaya Grand Mosque.

Head of the Legal Information Section of the South Sumatra High Prosecutor's Office, Khaidirman, said that Alex Noerdin was named a suspect based on the findings of the investigation team regarding the examination of witnesses and the defendants in the case.

During the investigation, it was found that the disbursement of the Rp130 billion grant was not in accordance with the procedure.

"It was found that the process for disbursing the grant funds was not in accordance with the procedure," he said, quoted by Antara, Wednesday, September 22.

According to Khaidirman, Alex Noerdin, who was then Governor of South Sumatra, was responsible for the disbursement of grant funds worth Rp. 130 billion which was disbursed in two terms.

Each worth Rp50 billion in the first term of 2015, and Rp80 billion in the second term in 2017 from APBD funds for the construction of the Sriwijaya Grand Mosque.

Besides Alex Noerdin, in this case, his party also named the former General Treasurer of the Sriwijaya Mosque Waqf Foundation Muddai Madang and former Head of the State Financial and Asset Management Agency (BPKAD) Laoma L Tobing as suspects.

"Laoma was named a suspect because he was the one who disbursed the grant funds and then to Muddai as the foundation that received the grant funds," he said.

So with the stipulation of the status of the three people as suspects in the alleged corruption case of the Sriwijaya Mosque, five people have been recorded.

They are Ahmad Naasuhi (as former head of the South Sumatra Provincial Government Welfare bureau), Mukti Sulaiman (former Regional Secretary of South Sumatra).

Then there are four people who have been named as defendants and have been tried by the Palembang District Court, namely, Eddy Hermanto, the former General Chair of the Sriwijaya Mosque Construction.

Dwi Kridayani KSO PT Brantas Abipraya - Yodya Karya, Syarifudin Head of the Auction Division for the Construction of the Sriwijaya Mosque and Yudi Arminto Project Manager for PT Brantas Abipraya.

"So a total of 9 people," he added.

Former Governor of South Sumatra Alex Noerdin has been named a suspect in alleged corruption in the purchase of natural gas by the BUMD of the Regional Mining and Energy Company of South Sumatra for the 2010-2019 period.

"The investigative team has upgraded the status of suspects AN (Alex Noerdin) and MM with the issuance of a warrant for the investigation of the Director of Jampidsus," said the Head of the AGO, Leonard Eben Ezer Simanjuntak, Thursday, September 16.

The AGO explained that this case occurred between 2010-2019. The South Sumatra Provincial Government received an allocation to purchase the state's share of natural gas from JOB PT Pertamina, Talisman Ltd, Pacific Oil and Gas Ltd, Jambi Merang (JOB Jambi Merang) in the amount of 15 MMSCFD based on the decision of the Oil and Gas Management Agency (BP Migas) at the request of the Governor South Sumatra Alex Noerdin.

BP Migas' decision to appoint South Sumatra PDPDE BUMD as the buyer of the country's share of natural gas. However, with the argument that PDPDE does not have technical experience and funds, South Sumatra PDPDE in collaboration with private investors, PT Dika Karya Lintas Nusa formed a joint venture company PT PDPDE Gas with a composition of 15 percent share ownership for South Sumatra PDPDE and 85 percent for PT DKLN.

The AGO said investigators were still continuing their investigations to find other suspects who were suspected of having participated in the corruption crime of purchasing natural gas by the South Sumatra PDPDE BUMD in 2010-2019.