DPR Urged to Form Working Committee on Yaqut Case, Sahroni: It's Not as Simple as Buying Chillies
Jakarta - Deputy Chairman of DPR RI Commission III, Ahmad Sahroni, has responded to calls for the formation of a Working Committee (Panja) to investigate the change in detention status of former Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas.
“This is not as simple as saying we’re going to buy chillies at the market. It requires more comprehensive discussions among all factions,” Sahroni said when met at the DPR RI Building on Monday (30/3/2026).
According to him, every proposal received will be accommodated before further decisions are made.
“Yes, that’s a proposal; we accept the proposal and then it will be discussed in Commission III regarding what has been conveyed,” Sahroni explained.
On the other hand, Sahroni admitted that Commission III has not yet received an explanation from the leadership regarding the reasons for changing Yaqut’s detention status to house arrest, even though it was only brief.
“Not yet, not yet, there hasn’t been any,” he said.
“That’s why I said that if there are clear rules, then everyone can be considered to do the same thing on the condition of paying to the state,” Sahroni stated.
According to him, a transparent mechanism is needed to avoid raising public suspicion about the law enforcement process.
“Well, that’s more like how it is in neighbouring countries, give a guarantee, pay to the state, clear like that. Because it shouldn’t lead to people speculating about something. Even if it’s illness, yes, it’s illness, but if it becomes house arrest, people start questioning. So far so good, then we’ll see; this is part of the oversight that needs correction. That’s it,” he concluded.
Coordinator of the Indonesian Anti-Corruption Society (MAKI), Boyamin Saiman, has requested that DPR Commission III form a working committee to investigate the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) regarding the change in Yaqut’s detention status to house arrest.
The request was submitted through a letter sent to DPR Commission III on Thursday (26/3/2026).
Boyamin believes that forming the working committee is important as a form of external oversight of the KPK, in addition to the complaint mechanism to the KPK Supervisory Board (Dewas).
“The DPR working committee is still needed as an external supervisor so that as representatives of the people, it can be considered the superior of the KPK, which can cut the budget if the KPK’s performance is poor,” Boyamin said.