Indonesia's ex-agriculture minister sentenced to 10 years for corruption, 6th minister from Widodo's Cabinet

Indonesia’s anti-graft court sentenced a former agriculture minister to 10 years in prison on Thursday. Cabinet Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo received a prison sentence after he was found guilty of corruption-related extortion, abuse of power and bribery involving ministry contracts with private vendors.

The case has put a major dent in Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s credibility in fighting corruption. It is interesting to note that five other members of the Widodo’s Cabinet have been sentenced to prison in corruption cases.

Before his term ends in October, Widodo’s effort to clean up the government is now marred with suspicion.

What was the case about?

The court in Jakarta ruled that the former Cabinet minister was guilty of abusing his power by enriching himself and other officials. Along with the prison sentence, the court also ordered Limpo to pay a 300 million rupiah fine. If he fails to pay the fine, Limpo will be subjected to another four months imprisonment.

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“The defendant has legally and convincingly been proven guilty of corruption,” presiding Judge Rianto Adam Pontoh said while giving out the ruling. “He wasn’t a good example as a public official, what he has done is counter the government’s efforts to fight corruption and enriched himself by corruption."

Limpo was arrested last October by the Corruption Eradication Commission, known as the KPK. However, he has denied all the wrongdoings.

During the trial, several ministry officials testified and stated that secretariats, directorates general and agencies within the ministry were required to give 20 per cent of their budget to Limpo. The Indonesian politician threatened the officials that they would be sacked if they rejected his demands.

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Not only this, the court found that vendors and suppliers were also asked to set aside money for the then-minister. It was later revealed that Limpo used the money on luxurious cars, gifts and apartments, charter private jets, family parties and gatherings.

The prosecutors involved in the case sought 12 years imprisonment for Limpo. They stated that the politician accepted a total of 44.7 billion rupiah between January 2020 and October 2023, The Independent reported.

What did Limpo say in his defence?

During the trial, Limpo maintained that he was the victim of political persecution and called the whole ordeal a slander. “I never received any information about their objection to any of my orders,” Limpo said, “If they think it’s wrong, they should consult and discuss it with me ​​first," he added.

Corruption is touted as an endemic in Indonesia. The KPK has arrested around 250 members of the local parliament, as many as 133 regents and mayors as well as 18 governors, 83 members of the national parliament and 12 ministers since the body was founded in late 2003.

With inputs from agencies.