Minister Of State Secretary Denies Abolition-Amnesty Of Corruption Spread, Asks For Political Noise To Be Reduced

Minister of State Secretary (Mensesneg) Prasetyo Hadi/ANTARA/Through Susthira K.

JAKARTA - Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi dismissed the awarding of abolition to the convict in the case of importing Tom Lembong's sugar and amnesty to the convicted bribery case of Hasto Kristiyanto by President Prabowo Subianto as a form of omission to corrupt practices.

"Indeed, his spirit (President Prabowo) is that we need unity and integrity. That doesn't mean we will let corrupt practices, no. But in these two cases, the nuances are more on political issues, that's what the President uses his rights. Let's reduce political commotion," said Prasetyo Hadi as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, August 4.

He also emphasized that granting amnesty and abolition is the right of the President as the head of state whose authority is regulated by the constitution.

"The president uses the right (to grant amnesty and abolition). That is regulated in the constitution," he continued.

Prasetyo emphasized the importance of prioritizing a sense of unity in dealing with various problems of the nation and carrying out the wheels of development.

"We need, we need to unite. We need calm so that we can build and fix all problems faced by the community. Don't reduce the energy for things that are less productive," he said.

He gave an example of a number of important issues to be given a focus of attention, such as food security to poverty alleviation and poverty that are still encountered in the country.

"It's better for us to concentrate, we secure our food. Thank God, now our food production is increasing, but we must not be careless. We must continue to maintain that," he said.

"We need to deal with our brothers and sisters with Makan Bergizi, who today have not been able to all receive the benefits. Let's all work hard to get there. There are still many of our brothers and sisters in Desil 1, Desil 2, who are below the income line we expect. The energy is there. We just unite," added the Minister of State Secretary.

Prasetyo also made an analogy that the importance of unity in order to create national stability which became the basis for development was like a football team.

"All the great players have been filled, united every day in training. So playing, sometimes you don't necessarily win either. Especially if we don't unite. The positive energy looks at something. There is still a lot of homework (homework) that we have to finish," he said.

Previously, Minister of Law Supratman Andi Agtas said the consideration of giving abolition to Thomas Trikasih Lembaong or Tom Lembong and amnesty to 1,178 people, including Hasto Kristiyanto, was for the sake of reconciliation and unity.

"This is, once again, the consideration is reconciliation, unity," Supratman said during a press conference regarding the granting of abolitions and amnesty at the Office of the Ministry of Law, Jakarta, Friday (1/8) night.

The DPR previously approved the application for abolition of former Trade Minister Thomas Trikasih Lembong or Tom Lembong in the alleged corruption case of sugar importation at the Ministry of Trade in 2015 '2016.

The DPR also approved the granting of amnesty to the Secretary General of the PDI-P Hasto Kristiyanto as a convict in the alleged bribery case for interim replacement (PAW) for DPR candidate Harun Masiku and the obstruction of the investigation.

Tom Lembong was sentenced to four years and six months in prison in a corruption case of sugar importation, while Hasto Kristiyanto was sentenced to three years and six months for being proven involved in the bribery related to the interim replacement of Harun Masiku.