Jokowi To JK Ogah Jadi Saksi Meringkan, SYL Hadirkan Tiga Orang Ini

President Jokowi and former Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo in Central Java in 2023 (doc Setneg)

JAKARTA - Former Minister of Agriculture (Mentan) Syahrul Yasin Limpo or SYL will present three mitigating witnesses or a de charge in the trial of cases of alleged extortion and receiving gratuities held at the Jakarta Corruption Court, today.

Three mitigating witnesses were presented, namely Abdul Malik Faisal, Rafly Fauzi, and Jufri Rahman. One of them is a cadre of the NasDem Party.

"There is 1 member of the NasDem," SYL Legal Advisor, Djamaluddin Koedoeboen told VOI, Monday, June 10.

Meanwhile, the other two witnesses are the State Civil Apparatus or ASN. They were subordinates of SYL when they served as Governor of South Sumatra.

"The 2 ASNs in question were once officials in the province of South Sulawesi Makassar, when Pak SYL served as Governor of South Sulawesi," said Koedoeboen.

Chances are, the three people were chosen as mitigating witnesses for SYL because President Joko Widodo or Jokowi had rejected Jusuf Kalla's request to testify for the former minister.

SYL is known to have written to Jokowi, Vice President Ma'ruf Amin, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, to Jusuf Kalla as a mitigating witness.

In this case, SYL was charged with extortion of up to Rp44.5 billion during the 2020-2023 period.

This action was carried out together with the Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture Kasdi Subagyono and the Director of Agricultural Equipment and Machinery of the Directorate General of Infrastructure and Facilities of the Ministry of Agriculture Muhammad Hatta.

This money was used for the benefit of Syahrul's wife and family, invited gifts, the NasDem Party, religious events, aircraft charters to Umrah and sacrifices. In addition, he was also charged with receiving gratuities of Rp40.6 billion from January 2020 to October 2023.