Light Punishment, Eradication Of Corruption In Indonesia Is Only A Routine

The convict former Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo or SYL after undergoing a court verdict against him at the Jakarta Corruption Court, Thursday, July 11. (VOI/Rizky Adytia Pramana)

The verdict handed down by the Panel of Judges at the Corruption Court (Tipikor) at the Central Jakarta District Court (PN) against Syahrul Yasin Limpo (SYL) has become a topic of conversation. The punishment for SYL which is lower than the prosecutor's demands is the cause.

Former Minister of Agriculture (Mentan) SYL received a sentence of 10 years in prison. SYL is considered legally and convincingly proven to have committed extortion within the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture.

"The defendant Syahrul Yasin Limpo was sentenced to 10 years in prison, reduced while the defendant was in detention," said Chief Justice Rianto Adam Pontoh during a trial at the Jakarta Corruption Court, Thursday (11/7/2024).

"And a fine of Rp. 300 million, subsidiary to imprisonment for four months," continued the judge.

SYL was also sentenced to pay compensation of Rp. 14,147,144,789 plus US$30,000.

The prison sentence for SYL is lower than the prosecutor's demands, which is 12 years in prison and a fine of Rp. 500 million or a subsidiary of six months in prison. The Indonesian Anti-Corruption Society (MAKI) considers the sentence against SYL to be too low. With a sentence like this, MAKI Coordinator Boyamin Saiman assessed that the light sentence does not reflect the spirit and purpose of eradicating corruption.

The SYL corruption case is one of the things that has shocked the public since the end of last year. It was said that he lost contact after participating in an event in Spain, this man from South Sulawesi was finally arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in Jakarta on October 12, 2023.

After undergoing trial, SYL was charged with receiving gratuities from a number of Ministry of Agriculture officials who were used for his personal expenses. KPK prosecutor Taufiq Ibnugoho believes the total gratuity received by SYL is IDR 44.5 billion.

The prosecutor said the money was obtained during SYL's tenure as Minister of Agriculture from 2020 to 2023. He earned tens of billions by extorting his men.

SYL's gratuity money is used not only for personal purposes, but also poured heavily into his family. Such as monthly money for his wife of Rp. 25-30 million, buying a child's car of Rp. 500 million, birthday fees and fiscal grandchildren, Umrah fees, sacrifices, to controlling dangdut singer.

MAKI Coordinator Boyamin Saiman emphasized that the 10-year sentence for SYL was far from a sense of justice.

"Ini sangat belum memenuhi rasa keadilan, karena ini dilakukan oleh seorang menteri, jabatan tinggi. Jadi ini sangat kurang," kata Boyamin.

The 15 or 20 year demand for guards is still considered light, especially seeing the decision below. I think it should be at least 20 years. It should take life to provide a deterrent effect," he explained.

Regarding the flow of money from SYL corruption that poured into the family and even the singer, Boyamin emphasized that punishment for the former minister was like an insult to the Indonesian people.

Syahrul Yasin Limpo became the sixth minister in the era of President Joko Widodo who was caught in a corruption case. Previously, former Minister of Communication and Information Johnny Gerard Plate was sentenced to 15 years of guards and a fine of Rp. 1 billion, subsidiary to six months in prison by the Panel of Judges at the Corruption Court in November 2023.

He was proven to have received tens of billions of base transceiver station (BTS) 4G procurement projects and supporting infrastructure stages 1 to 5.

Golkar politician Idrus Marham was caught in the bribery case of the Riau PLTU. The man who had served as Minister of Social Affairs in Jokowi's cabinet was sentenced to three years in prison and a fine of Rp. 150 million, subsidiary to two months in prison.

Former Minister of Youth and Sports Imam Nahrawi was also caught in corruption in the bribery grant of KONI funds. He was later sentenced to seven years in prison and a fine of Rp. 400 million, subsidiary to three months in prison.

In addition, Imam was also sentenced to compensate the state for Rp18.15 billion and revocation of the right to vote for up to four years.

Edhy Prabowo, former Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, was also proven to have accepted bribes for issuing permits for cultivation and export of lobster seeds. The sentence of five years in prison, a fine of Rp. 400 million, a subsidiary of six months in prison, and a revocation of the right to vote for up to two years was imposed on Edhy.

Finally, the corruption case that also shocked the public was the COVID-19 social assistance bribery case in Jabodetabek by Juliari Batubara. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison and a fine of Rp. 500 million and a subsidiary of six months in prison.

According to Boyamin, the low verdict handed down by the judges against corruptors, both in the Jokowi era and previously, did not reflect the spirit and purpose of eradicating corruption. He called this like a drama that continues to be repeated.

"There is no deterrent effect if the sentence is 5-10 years, especially if there is a discount. Eradication of corruption must be made a deterrent effect, a high and poor sentence," he said.

"If corruption, the perpetrators and the punishment are light, over time our eradication of corruption is just routine, boring, being a broken cassette is repeated, the people are irritated," concluded Boyamin.