Legal Experts Ask Riau Provincial Government To Take Firm Action On The Use Of Official Houses For Personal Interests

One of the assets of the national house that has been confiscated on Jalan Sumatra, Pekanbaru City, which was once used as a culinary business location. (ANTARA/Riski Gross/24)

Pekanbaru Dr. Erdianto Effendi, a criminal law expert from Riau University, emphasized that the use of state-owned land, buildings, or official residences for personal gain or as if in accordance with the law can be considered a criminal act of corruption according to Article 12 letter h of Law Number 20 of 2001. This statement was conveyed in the context of controlling 33 houses of the Riau Provincial Government's assets by a number of former officials who have been going on for decades.

According to Dr. Erdianto, the Riau Provincial Government must have the courage to take firm action regarding this issue. "The Riau Provincial Government must dare to act because the public has the right to know. If they are afraid to defame, announce those who have violated the authority by using the initials alone," he said in Pekanbaru, Friday, August 9.

He added that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) had given the Riau Provincial Government a deadline to take over illegally controlled official residences before August 10, 2024. "The legal threat for users of official houses outside of this authority is a minimum of 4 years and a maximum of 20 years," he explained.

Dr. Erdianto also reminded that civil servants or state officials who use state land illegally, even though they know that this action is against the laws and regulations, can be subject to sanctions according to the law.

Spokesperson for the Indonesian KPK, Tessa Mahardhika Sugiarto, reported that as of Thursday, August 1, 32 of the 33 official houses in question had been returned and some had been made. However, one unit of official residence that has not been returned is on Jalan Dwikora, Pekanbaru City. In addition, there are still two plots of land and seven units of official vehicles that have not been reported to be returned to the state.

Tessa also mentioned that several official houses on Jalan Sumatra and Jalan Ronggowarsito that were previously used for culinary businesses had been closed after being taken over by the government. This shows the government's efforts to curb assets that have been misused.