Kompolnas Backs Police to Thoroughly Investigate Coal Corruption Case

A member of the National Police Commission (Kompolnas), Mohammad Choirul Anam, has expressed support for the police to thoroughly investigate and expose the masterminds behind the alleged corruption in coal procurement at PLN, which caused a total blackout in Sumatra. “Kompolnas is certainly paying attention to this case and supports its disclosure,” Anam said when confirmed in Jakarta on Thursday. According to Anam, corruption in a sector that fulfils the basic needs of the people not only harms state finances but also directly impacts and disrupts the daily activities of the community. “The most fundamental thing is that this corruption disrupts, not only harming state finances, but also disrupting people’s lives with intermittent electricity and so on. People’s lives are severely disrupted,” he said. He added that the systemic impact of periodic blackouts due to corrupt governance has also hit the economic sector, from micro-enterprises to industries suffering material losses. Therefore, Kompolnas is urging police investigators to work professionally, transparently, and without discrimination in taking action against anyone behind the case. “In this context, Kompolnas encourages the police, supports the police to act professionally by uncovering whoever is behind this incident. Law enforcement must not retreat a single step,” Anam asserted. He also invited all levels of society to oversee this legal process and provide full support to the National Police for the sake of achieving clean bureaucratic reform. “We invite the entire community to respect and support this effort. At the very least, so that our electricity governance improves,” he said. The investigation team from the Police’s Corruption Eradication Corps (Kortastipidkor) earlier seized gold bars, foreign currency, and cash worth approximately Rp476 billion from a house in the Sentul area, Bogor Regency, West Java, in the early hours of Thursday. The Head of the Police’s Kortastipidkor, Inspector General Totok Suhatyanto, stated after the search that the seizure from the luxury house in Sentul was part of an investigation into alleged corruption and money laundering. “We found a locked safe which, when opened, contained seven suitcases, namely 74 kilograms of gold bars, 4,767,800 US dollars, 14,083,800 Singapore dollars, and Rp100 million in cash,” Totok said.