The Granting Of Abolitions And Amnesty Is Considered A Strategy Of Prabowo Jingak Opposition

President Prabowo Subianto spoke with Megawati Soekarnoputri to talk after the Pancasila Birthday Commemoration Ceremony. (Photo: ANTARA)

JAKARTA UNJ political observer, Rakhmat Hidayat assessed that the granting of abolitions and amnesty to Tom Lembong and Hasto Kristiyanto was a strategy to tame the opposition camp even though on the other hand it showed the attitude of President Prabowo Subianto's statesmanship.

Pak Prabowo also showed that all factions in the DPR were in control because all factions agreed. So, in my opinion, the opposition in the DPR could be weakened. This is Pak Prabowo's strategy to guide all opposition forces," he said, Sunday, August 3, 2025.

As is known, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, stated that all factions in the House of Representatives approved President Prabowo Subianto's decision to give an abolition to Tom Lembong and amnesty to Hasto Kristiyanto as stated in the letter numbered R-43/Pres/07/2025 dated July 30, 2025.

Tom Lembong was previously sentenced to 4.5 years in prison in a case of alleged corruption in sugar imports while serving as Minister of Trade, while Hasto was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison in a bribery case against former KPU commissioner Wahyu Setiawan.

Abolition is the termination of the ongoing legal process against a person, while amnesty is the result of a sentence.

With the granting of abolitions and amnesty, Tom Lembong and Hasto Kristiyanto were finally released on Friday, August 1, 2025 evening.

Rakhmat admitted that from the start it had been rolling, especially in the case of Tom Lembong looking happy. The panel of judges themselves did not find any malicious intentions and profits flowing to Tom due to sugar imports.

Therefore, he suspects that the case was deliberately fabricated solely to punish Tom who had different choices in the 2024 presidential election.

He then mentioned the statement of the General Chairperson of Projo Volunteers, Budi Arie Setiadi in 2023, who had mentioned that political elites must be careful in taking action in the 2024 presidential election.

"Why? Because if you lose, go to jail. That's clear now," he added.

Menurut Rakhmat, Prabowo tengah memainkan strategi politik dua kaki. Sasarannya adalah dua poros oposisi, yakni loyalis Anies Baswedan dan juga poros PDI Perjuangan.

Dengan pembebasan Tom dan Hasto, Prabowo bisa meraih simpati dari tokoh-tokoh oposan.

“Mendapatkan legitimasi politik dari orang-orang enggak tahu itu secara lebih kritis. Tetapi, kalau kita baca secara lebih kritis, ini adalah bagian operasi politik. Di depan digebuk, tetapi di belakang dirangkul dengan disetujui proses pengajuan abolisinya,” tandasnya.

According to Rakhmat, Prabowo is playing a two-leg political strategy. The targets are two opposition axes, namely loyalist Anies Baswedan and also the PDI-P axis.

With the release of Tom and Hasto, Prabowo was able to gain sympathy from opposition figures.

Getting political legitimacy from people doesn't know it's more critical. However, if we read more critically, this is part of political operations. In front of the building, but behind it is embraced by approving the abolition application process," he said.