JAKARTA - The name of the Director General of Customs and Excise, Djaka Budi Utama, has recently come under public scrutiny after being mentioned in the indictment of the alleged import bribery case that dragged the Blueray Cargo company.
The emergence of the name of high-ranking officials in the customs environment immediately triggered various speculations and opinions in the public space.
However, the General Chair of the National Rembuk of Activists 98 and also the General Chair of the Association of Alumni of UPN Veteran Jakarta, Sayed Junaidi Rizaldi, reminded the public not to rush to draw conclusions before there was clear legal proof.
According to Sayed, until now there has been no legal fact that shows that Djaka Budi Utama received funds or was actively involved in the bribery practice that is being processed by law enforcement officials.
"The public must be able to distinguish between someone who is said to have been present at a meeting with someone who has actually been proven to be involved in a criminal act. Those are two very different things," Sayed said in his statement.
He assessed that in bureaucratic practices and the business world, meetings between state officials and industry players are common, especially in the customs and international trade sectors which indeed require cross-party communication.
According to him, the interaction between officials and business associations, logistics companies, importers, and industry players is often carried out as part of coordination, delivery of aspirations, and discussion of policies.
"Do not immediately assume that every meeting of officials with businessmen is something that violates the law. In many cases, such communication is part of the duties and functions of the bureaucracy," he said.
Sayed also highlighted the possibility of certain parties taking advantage of the momentum of the meeting for personal interests by bringing the name of officials to appear to have closeness with policymakers.
He assessed that such a pattern was not new in the practice of the import mafia or illegal business games in the international trade sector.
"It is very possible that there are individuals who arrange agendas or sell the names of officials to build influence, seek legitimacy, and even suppress others. Practices like this have often occurred," he said.
Therefore, Sayed asked law enforcement officials, including the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), to really investigate who the real parties were behind the alleged import case.
He assessed that the investigation should not stop at the mention of names in a meeting, but should trace who arranged the agenda, who promised facilities, who received benefits, to who used the name of officials for business interests.
"If there is indeed an import game, law enforcement must dismantle the main actors. Don't just build perceptions from pieces of information that are not necessarily complete," he said.
Sayed also reminded of the dangers of the trial by media culture which he said was increasingly happening in various major cases in Indonesia. He assessed that social judgment before the legal process was completed could actually undermine the objectivity of law enforcement.
"It is dangerous for the country if every name of a public official who is mentioned is immediately made a social verdict. Trial by media will only open the space for character assassination and interfere with the objectivity of the law," he said again.
According to him, in a state of law, the main measure remains on the facts and evidence in court, not assumptions, framing, or opinions that develop in social media and public spaces.
He also emphasized that until now there has been no evidence that Djaka Budi Utama knew about the alleged transaction or arrangement of interests behind the meeting referred to in the case.
"We also know how Djaka Budi Utama's performance while at Customs. Therefore, law enforcement must be directed at proving the whole, not just building perceptions," he explained.
Sayed added that it was not impossible that certain parties deliberately used the closeness of bureaucracy to hide behind the big names of state officials in order to carry out their business interests.
Therefore, he hopes that law enforcement officers will continue to work professionally, objectively, and transparently so that the case can be investigated thoroughly without causing premature judgment against parties who have not been proven legally.
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