Haru Biru Karen Agustiawan: First Woman Becomes President Director Of Pertamina, Unfortunately Must Be Entangled In Corruption

Karen Agustiawan, who was born in Bandung on October 19, 1958, was the first woman to lead Pertamina. (ANTARA PHOTO/Wahyu Putro A)

JAKARTA - Pertamina is one of the important SOEs in Indonesia. Andilnya in managing oil and gas (oil and gas) resources is already famous. In fact, it was time for Indonesia to make a profit. This condition made the government often intervene to choose the tested captain for Pertamina.

Karen Agustiawan, for example. The President Director (Director) of Pertamina from the 2009-2014 era is considered to be an external understanding in the oil and gas business. He once brought Pertamina to grow. However, recently he actually shocked Indonesia because he was caught in a corruption scandal in liquid natural gas (LNG).

The Indonesian government is often serious in finding Pertamina leaders. Pertamina's role in managing oil and gas is the estuary. Not to mention the business of utilizing Pertamina's assets.

The figure of a leader who understands the upstream and downstream affairs of oil and gas is most needed. The candidate will also be tested by a series of ministers from the administration of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), from the Minister of SOEs, Sofyan Djalil to the Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani. Then Karen Agustiawan was elected as the President Director of Petamina on February 5, 2009.

The graduate of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) is full of experience in the world of oil. He has also earned a classy position as Director of Hulu Pertamina. He also had a dream of bringing Pertamina to be famous around the world.

His career as leader of Pertamina is classy. He was able to bring Pertamina to achieve great achievements in 2013. Pertamina is included in the list of 500 highest-income companies in the world of Fortune magazine's Fortune Global 500version.

Pertamina at that time was ranked 122nd. Karen herself did not forget to participate in achieving achievements as the most influential woman in the business world according to Fortune magazine's version of the same year. She occupies the 6th position of the 50 women on the list.

He is also considered capable of bringing Pertamina with a high target. He also revealed that he is not easily driven. It is also not easy to be influenced by external forces -- the oil and gas mafia. The narrative made him focus on bringing Pertamina forward and developing.

Not long after being inaugurated as the main director, Karen shared her dream of bringing Pertamina into a big world-class company. He reflected on Petronas, an oil company from Malaysia, who studied with Pertamina and then worldwide.

At that time, Karen did not know that her throne was a hot and game-packed seat. But she stated that she would not serve any form of intervention that could harm the state and the company. Karen said: God willing, I was able to cool the chair that was always labeled hot earlier," said Pramono and Ryan Dwiky Anggriawan in his writing in Tempo magazine entitled Penutup Kendang in the Hot Seat (2018).

Karen's existence in increasing Pertamina's image as a big company is unquestionable. However, running Pertamina is not easy. Karen's bad behavior began to be smelled by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) when she was no longer in office in 2023.

Ketua KPK, Firli Bahuri mengumumkan bahwa Karen jadi tersangka korupsi kasus korupsi gas alam cair atau Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) pada 19 September 2023. Mantan Direktur Utama Pertamina itu dianggap merugikan negara sebesar Rp2,1 triliun dalam kontrak pengadaan LNG.

Karen is considered the culprit of the emergence of the LNG procurement contract purchased by Pertamina from the United States (US) corporation, Corpus Christi Liquefaction (CCL) in the 2011-2014 period. Karen's past decision made LNG purchases not optimal in the future.

Malang cannot be rejected. LNG's stock is abundant. Pertamina is bankrupt and sells LNG to the stock exchange floor at low prices. Karen herself in that case was accused of enriching herself by Rp1.09 billion. He is also echoed at enriching US corporation, CCL.

Sidang pun digelar. Namun, karen kasus mendapat pro dan kontra. Mereka yang mendukung menganggap Karen memang bertanggung jawab karena keputusannya merugikan Pertamina di masa depan. Mereka yang kontra termasuk Wakil Presiden Indonesia era 2014-2019, Jusuf Kalla (JK) memangap penetapannya sebagai tersangka, kemudian terdakwa salah sasaran.

JK considers Karen to be only carrying out her duties as Pertamina's leader. Pertamina's case of loss is another matter. However, the results of the Central Jakarta Corruption Court actually sentenced Karen to nine years in prison and a fine of Rp. 500 million on June 24, 2024.

Karen is guilty of violating Article 2 paragraph (1) of the Corruption Eradication Law (UU Tipikor) in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) 1st of the Criminal Code in conjunction with Article 64 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code. The determination of the suspect shocked the whole of Indonesia.

"Declaring that the defendant Galaila Karen Kardinah or Karen Agustiawan has been legally and convincingly proven to have committed a criminal act of corruption. Sentencing the defendant to be sentenced to 9 years in prison," said Chief Justice Maryono as quoted on Detik.com page, June 24, 2024.