Emphasizes Legal Process When ACT Misappropriates Donations, Mahfud MD Recounts Once ACT Was Suddenly Visited Asking For Endorsement

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD/DOK VOI-Nailin In Saroh

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam) Mahfud MD assessed that the social organization Aksi Cepat Tanggap (ACT) should be prosecuted if it is proven to have misappropriated humanitarian funds.

"If it is true that the humanitarian funds collected by ACT were misappropriated, then apart from being condemned, the misappropriation must also be brought to the criminal justice process," said Mahfud in one of the videos uploaded to his personal Instagram account @mohmahfudmd quoted by Antara, Tuesday, 5 July.

Mahfud also shared his experience of providing support to ACT and promoting the activities of the social organization for humanitarian missions in 2018.

The former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court explained that ACT suddenly came to his office.

"To give the endorsement (promotion), I was suddenly visited at the office. I was also 'tagged' when I finished giving a sermon at a mosque," said Mahfud.

At that time, Mahfud admitted that he was happy to promote the human movement and ACT also explained that they were collecting humanitarian funds to help Palestinians, victims of natural disasters in Papua, and the attacks of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Damascus, Syria.

"At that time, I saw that ACT was still purely working for humanitarian affairs," he said.

Regarding the alleged misappropriation of humanitarian funds by ACT, the Criminal Investigation Unit of the Police stated that they had opened an investigation by collecting data and information.

The Head of the Public Relations Division of the National Police Inspector General Dedi Prasetyo said the Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) of the Police was conducting an investigation, although the Police had not yet received a report from the public.

Meanwhile, the Financial Transactions and Analysis Reporting Center (PPATK) Ivan Yustiavandana said, from the results of the transaction analysis carried out by his party, it was indicated that there was misuse of funds for personal interests and was also related to alleged prohibited activities.

According to him, PPATK has long conducted an analysis of ACT's financial transactions. The results of the analysis have also been submitted to law enforcement officers, in this case the Special Detachment (Densus) 88 of the National Police for Anti-terrorism and the National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT).