JAKARTA - The corruption case of former Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo (SYL) has made many people embarrassed. How come, SYL is suspected of having a hobby of harassing his subordinates at the Ministry of Agriculture for personal needs and his family.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) detained SYL in October last year in connection with cases of alleged corruption in the form of extortion, gratification, and money laundering (TPPU) in the Ministry of Agriculture.
Currently, the Minister of Agriculture for the 2019-2023 period is undergoing a trial at the Jakarta Corruption Court (Tipikor). This 69-year-old man was charged with extortion of up to Rp44,546,079,044 and received gratuities totaling Rp40,647,44,494 billion in the 2020-2023 period.
Public Prosecutor (KPK) Masmudi said SYL had blackmailed together with Kasdi Subagyono as Secretary General of the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture for the period 2021-2023 and Muhammad Hatta as Director of Agricultural Equipment and Machinery of the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture in 2023.
During the trial, SYL's flow of corruption funds was revealed which made people shake their heads. The former Governor of South Sulawesi harassed the Ministry of Agriculture's employees for various personal interests, ranging from spending money for his wife of Rp. 30 million per month, paying money, Umrah, sacrifices, to Plesir abroad.
Not only that, SYL's son, Kemal Redindo Putra or Dindo, also enjoyed the results of harassing his father. Dindo is claimed to have asked for a room renovation fee of Rp. 200 million from one of the Ministry of Agriculture officials.
SYL is also said to have asked for a holiday fee for the celebration of his grandson's birthday which was held in Makassar and Jakarta. Ogah spends personal money, the cost of his grandson's circumcision was also replaced by the Ministry of Agriculture.
Abnormal Behavior
What SYL did made everyone furious. Even comic Ernest Prakasa had time to spill his ideas on social media X.
All the ridiculous things SYL and his family do are terrible. But what's even more terrible is when they wake up, it's just a catch. How are the other jerk officials out there? What else is this spending that we share? Ernest wrote on the @ernestprakasa X account.
More and more days, the statements of a number of witnesses in the trial of corruption cases increasingly make people sick. What SYL did seemed to be beyond common sense. Not only poured money on his family, this Democratic National Party politician is also said to have disbursed money from the Ministry of Agriculture to a singer Nayunda Nabila.
According to psychologist Tika Bisono, what SYL does is not only greed, but also an abnormal and eccentric thing. According to him, this happens because it puts people incompatible with their capacity.
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What is certain is abnormal behavior. All positions, not only in the ministry sector, must have rules. Normal people, people with high intelligence, can definitely be compatible with the rules, living by the rules because they are part of a system," said Tika while talking to VOI.
"People like SYL are opportunistic, have a tendency to be greedy or greedy, nor do they keep their pride as leaders. These are all behavioral irregularities as leaders," he continued.
Common Practice
The practice of extortion in government institutions has become a common secret. Previously, similar cases also occurred in several ministries.
According to Transparency International Indonesia (TII) researcher Sahel Alhabsyi, this happened because it was related to meritocracy, namely that the placement of people in one position was not based on competence or track record. In addition, there is also a political cost borne by the power holder.
"Because a large political cost comes out to occupy one position, the boss will try to cover the costs by asking for tribute to his subordinates," said Sahel.
"All of this happened and resulted in the practice of collecting tribute within the bureaucracy becoming common," he said.
In 2016, former Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Jero Wacik was proven guilty of corruption abusing the Ministerial Operational Fund (DOM), forcing his subordinates to collect reciprocal money from partners and receive gratuities. The misuse of funds was used for personal and family interests up to Rp8.4 billion.
Jero Wacik was then sentenced to four years in prison and a fine of Rp. 150 million, subsidiary to three months in prison.
Researcher from the Center for Anti-Corruption Studies (Pukat) UGM Zaenur Rochman said that the mode of corruption that utilizes DOM and charges from his subordinates has become a common practice.
"Initiatives can come from ministers or subordinates or vendors. The minister's operational needs have actually been borne by DOM. However, officials who are greedy want things outside of service to be borne," said Zenur.
"As a result, ask for service. Subordinates seek service funds from the manipulation of the official budget and from vendors," he said again.
Practices like this are often long revealed or even not at all because officials who work below prefer to hang out due to concerns about losing their positions.
"If there is no guarantee of safety, don't expect people to report, because it's the same as a career suicide. That is, the whistleblower system doesn't work," said Zaenur.
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