Dahnil Said Prabowo Found Allegations Of Corruption At The Beginning As Defense Minister

Spokesperson for Prabowo Subianto, Dahnil Anzar (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Spokesperson for Prabowo Subianto, Dahnil Anzar, said Prabowo found allegations of corruption at the Ministry of Defense (Kemhan) in the beginning serving as Defense Minister.

"This (suspected corruption) was revealed after sending people abroad to investigate the main weapon system (alutsista) manufacturer," said Dahnil Anzar, quoted from Antara, Sunday.

Dahnil added that when Prabowo served as Defense Minister, there were allegations of significant budget mark-ups.

Based on these allegations, continued Dahnil, Prabowo decided to cancel a number of contracts in order to secure state finances worth trillions of rupiah.

"Pak Prabowo has involved the BPK, it has also involved the KPK to take preventive measures," added Dahnil.

Thus, he assessed that currently there are many cuts in the budget expenditure process at the Ministry of Defense to decide and prevent efforts to increase the price of defense equipment.

Dahnil continued that the alleged mark-up within the Ministry of Defense that Prabowo found reached up to 1,000 percent.

Therefore, at the beginning of Prabowo's term as Defense Minister, the ministry's budget expenditure decreased after a number of preventive measures were taken.

"He sat down and came to the Ministry of Defense not with empty knowledge. Pak Prabowo understands all the details of defense equipment prices around the world," said Dahnil.

Regarding legal steps, Dahnil emphasized that the alleged budget inflation in the Ministry of Defense is the authority of law enforcement officers, such as the KPK and the Prosecutor's Office.

However, he highlighted that Prabowo had taken firm steps in terms of administration as the Defense Minister.

"So, brokers are not given space, so the mark-up practices are now a bit difficult to do," said Dahnil.