JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections (Menko Kumham Imipas) Yusril Ihza Mahendra emphasized that the government fully supports the legal process being carried out by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) regarding alleged irregularities in immigration services.
The case being investigated by the KPK dragged a number of names in the Immigration Directorate General, including Deputy Minister of Immigration and Corrections (Wamenimipas) Silmy Karim, Head of the Immigration Office for Special Class I Jakarta Barat Ronald Arman Abdullah, as well as several other officials and employees.
Yusril admitted that he was concerned about the emergence of alleged corruption practices in the immigration sector amid the government's commitment by President Prabowo Subianto to realize clean and corruption-free government governance.
"The government is very concerned about this incident. At a time when we are vigorously advocating for a clean government, it turns out that corruption practices in the field of immigration are still found. This is a heavy challenge for us to tighten supervision and enforce the law without discrimination in accordance with the president's instructions," said Yusril.
According to Yusril, the alleged criminal acts associated with Silmy Karim occurred in the period 2023 to 2024 when the person concerned was still serving as Director General of Immigration. Therefore, the case is not related to his current position as Deputy Minister of Immigration and Corrections.
He emphasized that the government would not interfere or hinder the investigation process carried out by the KPK. Instead, all parties who were summoned by investigators were asked to be cooperative and follow all applicable legal processes.
"We ensure that the government will not hinder the legal process. We open the door to the widest possible coordination and are ready to assist the KPK investigators if they need additional data or information," he said.
Yusril also expressed full confidence in the KPK as an independent institution to investigate the case to its conclusion, including taking the case to court if sufficient evidence is found.
He assessed that the KPK's move was an important part of efforts to eradicate corruption that must be supported by all elements of the government.
The case being investigated is suspected to be related to the abuse of authority in the management of immigration documents, especially the accelerated service for the issuance of limited residence permits (ITAS) and permanent residence permits (ITAP) for foreign workers.
A number of individuals are suspected of collecting fees outside the official provisions in exchange for accelerating services. The funds are suspected of not being deposited into the state treasury as required.
According to Yusril, the practice of collecting outside the provisions of the state organizer can be categorized as a criminal act of corruption, as stipulated in Law Number 20 of 2001 concerning Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption.
Responding to this issue, the government through the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections is said to have carried out a comprehensive service reform since the beginning of the Red and White Cabinet government.
The Minister of Immigration and Corrections Agus Andrianto, said Yusril, has eliminated various practices of accelerating paid services outside the official procedures, including the fast track service which was previously known to be completed in one to two days through unofficial payments.
Currently, all immigration services are required to follow the applicable standard procedures. All service fees must also be transparent and deposited in full to the state treasury as state revenue rather than taxes (PNBP).
Yusril hopes that the case being handled by the KPK will be a momentum for a thorough evaluation for the immigration sector to strengthen integrity, improve internal supervision, and ensure that all public services run professionally, transparently, and free from corruption practices.
"The government is committed to making this case a valuable lesson so that similar practices do not occur again in the public service sector, especially immigration services," he said.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
