Continuing to Bend the Law
Monday, February 3, 2025
The Prabowo administration is continuing the tradition of crooked law enforcement inherited from its predecessor. This needs to be corrected immediately.
arsip tempo : 174437686254.
LAW enforcement in the early days of the government of Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka has not given people much hope. Rather than using the first 100 days of his presidency to correct the legal abuses carried out by his predecessor, Joko Widodo, the Prabowo government has instead maintained these bad practises.
During the Jokowi administration, the law was often used as a tool in the interests of the leadership and its cronies. Politicization of the law and criminalization were used to muzzle those considered as opponents of the government. Conversely, legal violations by those close to the government were not processed as they should have been. This culminated with legal abuses to change the regulations related to state institutions in order to maintain power.
This type of practice has continued even though the regime has changed. It is not difficult to point out inconsistencies in the way the law has been enforced at the beginning of Prabowo Subianto’s administration. Just look at the naming of Thomas Trikasih Lembong as a suspect in relation to corruption over the import of sugar. The Trade Minister from 2015 to 2016, who sided with Prabowo’s rival, Anies Rasyid Baswedan, in the 2024 presidential election, was named a suspect and immediately detained. He is accused of corruption for importing sugar when there was still a surplus of domestic production. Meanwhile, his predecessor and his successor, who carried out exactly the same policy, are still untouched.
Another example is the legal proceedings against the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Secretary-General Hasto Kristiyanto. This case cannot be separated from matters of politics. Hasto’s party is the only force in the House of Representatives that did not join Prabowo’s coalition. Although his name has often been mentioned in relation to a bribe allegedly paid to the General Elections Commission to ensure Harun Masiku was appointed a member of the House, the proceedings by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), which began with the change of regime, were entwined with the interests of the government.
Discrimination was apparent because at the same time there was no progress in the proceedings in relation to the alleged extortion case involving Syahrul Yasin Limpo, the former Agriculture Minister and National Democrat (NasDem) Party politician, which is under investigation by the Jakarta Metropolitan Police. The suspect in the case, former KPK Chief Firli Bahuri, has still not faced charges and not even detained.
As well as ensuring justice for those people who are victims of abuses, corrections are needed to ensure legal certainty. This legal certainty is extremely important for every citizen, and also affects international trust in Indonesia—something that plays a major role in global investment.
The use of the judicial system for the interests of the government and ruling party should have stopped at the beginning of the new administration. Although a number of leaders at law enforcement institutions are a ‘legacy’ of Jokowi, Prabowo should stop the practices of his predecessor. He should make sure the constitutional promise that this country is a state based on rule of law is realized.
