2 Acehnese Customary Council Officials Charged With Corruption In Procurement Of Books Of IDR 5.6 Billion

The defendant attended the trial of corruption in the procurement of a customary opening of Rp5.6 billion at the corruption court at the Banda Aceh District Court in Banda Aceh, Thursday (22/2/2024). ANTARA/M Haris SA

BANDA ACEH - The Public Prosecutor charged two Acehnese Customary Council (MAA) officials and a colleague with a criminal act of corruption in the procurement of traditional books with a budget value of Rp5.6 billion.

The indictment was read out by the Public Prosecutor (JPU) Putra Masduri and friends from the Banda Aceh District Attorney during a trial at the Corruption Court at the Banda Aceh District Court in Banda Aceh, Thursday, February 22.

The trial with the panel of judges chaired by Teuku Syarafi and accompanied by Zulfikar and Harmi Jaya each as member judges. The defendants attended the trial accompanied by their respective legal advisory teams.

The two MAA officials who became defendants were Muhammad Zaini and Sadaruddin. The defendant Muhammad Zaini as the Budget User Authority (KPA) and Sadaruddin as the Technical Implementation Officer (PPTK) in MAA. Meanwhile, the defendant Emi Sukma as a book procurement partner.

MAA is a regional institution under the auspices of the Aceh Government. Apart from being under the provincial government, these regional institutions were also formed at the city district level. The duties and functions of these institutions preserve, foster, review, and develop customs in Aceh Province.

The prosecutor stated in his indictment that MAA's institution received funds in the 2022 fiscal year amounting to Rp3.1 billion and in 2023 2.5 billion. The total budget of Rp5.6 billion is for the procurement of traditional books.

Regarding the budget, said the prosecutor, the defendant divided it into a number of work packages with a value below Rp. 200 million. The purpose of distributing the work package is to avoid the auction process, so that the work package is carried out by direct appointment.

"Then, the defendant Emi Sukma provided a number of companies to work on the procurement of traditional books. The purpose of making packages under Rp. 200 million is to be easily regulated. In fact, the budget for the procurement of books in one code cannot be broken, so it violates the rules," said the prosecutor.

The prosecutor stated that the procurement was carried out not according to specifications. As a result of the actions of the defendants caused state losses of more than Rp. 2.6 billion. The state loss was based on the results of the Aceh Inspectorate audit.

The three defendants were charged with subsiderity, the primer violated Article 2 in conjunction with Article 18 letters a and b Paragraph (2) and Paragraph (3) of Law Number 31 of 1999 which was changed to Law Number 20 of 2001 concerning the eradication of criminal acts of corruption in conjunction with Article 55 Paragraph (1) 1 in conjunction with Article 65 of the Criminal Code.

Meanwhile, the subsidiary charges violated Article 3 in conjunction with Article 18 letters a and b Paragraph (2) and Paragraph (3) of Law / Number 31 of 1999 which were changed to Law Number 20 of 2001 concerning the eradication of criminal acts of corruption in conjunction with Article 55 Paragraph (1) 1 in conjunction with Article 65 of the Criminal Code.

The panel of judges continued the trial until March 7, 2024, with the agenda of examining witnesses. The panel of judges ordered the prosecutor to present the witness to the trial.