Ready To Help, Mahfud MD Invite Jusuf Hamka To Collect IDR 800 Billion Debt To The Ministry Of Finance

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD invited businessman Jusuf Hamka to collect the government's debt to his company. He said the request could go directly to the Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu).

"Please Mr. Jusuf Hamka directly to the Ministry of Finance, later if you need technical assistance I can help, for example by memos or the necessary documents, if you need them," Mahfud said quoting Antara.

Mahfud explained that he had indeed been assigned by the President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo to coordinate the payment of government debt to the private sector or the people.

The order, continued Mahfud, was officially conveyed by President Jokowi in an internal meeting on May 23, 2022 which he immediately followed up by issuing the Decree of the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Number 63 of 2022 on June 30, 2022.

Mahfud explained that the Decree of the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Number 63/2022 contained directions to re-examine and determine payments to parties who had receivables to the government and the government had been required by the court to pay them.

"We have also decided that the government must pay and the team that we form with the Ministry of Finance, the Attorney General's Office, the Police, and others, including from the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, has already been there deciding to pay," he said.

Mahfud added that the President again ordered through an internal cabinet meeting on January 13, 2023 to pay debts to the private sector or the people who had become permanent legal force.

"The president said that so far, if the people or the private sector have debts, we collect them with discipline, but we must also be consistent if we, who have debts, must also pay. That is the President's order," he said.

With regard to Jusuf Hamka's receivables, Mahfud stated that there may be a list of government debts to the private sector/people so much.

Therefore, the receivables should be directly charged to the Ministry of Finance which is obliged to pay it to the government, including if Jusuf Hamka feels he has rights.

Mahfud stated that he was ready to help if Jusuf Hamka needed technical assistance such as a memo or letter intended for the Ministry of Finance.

"In my opinion, it's easy, there's no need to memo. Just make sure that what I said was indeed from the President of the Republic of Indonesia," said Mahfud.

Previously, Jusuf Hamka demanded a government debt of Rp800 billion to his company PT Citra Marga Nusaphala Persada Tbk (CMNP) which began with a deposit of Rp78 billion at Bank Yakin Makmur (Yama) which was liquidated by the government during the 1998 monetary crisis.

The man who is familiarly called Babah Alun admitted that he had not yet received his deposit after the government argued that CMNP was affiliated with the owner of Bank Yama, namely Siti Hardijanti Rukmana or Tutut Suharto.

Jusuf Hamka denied this accusation until he filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court and won it in 2015, so the government was required to pay CMNP deposits at Bank Yama along with interest of 2 percent per month.

Jusuf Hamka admitted that he had written with the Directorate General of State Assets (DJKN) of the Ministry of Finance in mid-2020 but then communication stalled and DJKN stated that it was verifying at the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs.

Due to the verification process that had been going on for three years without results, Jusuf Hamka finally spoke up again to collect the government's debt.