Noel Opens Up, Exposes the 'Sultan of Manpower' Figure and Reveals Deep Regret

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Former Deputy Minister of Manpower Immanuel Ebenezer Gerungan, or Noel, has revealed several facts in the continuation of the trial in the alleged extortion case involving the processing of Occupational Safety and Health (K3) certifications within the Ministry of Manpower. This includes the figure of an employee nicknamed “Sultan Kemenaker”, the flow of money and luxury motorcycles, as well as an admission of deep regret. He stated that the nickname arose due to Bobby’s lifestyle, which was considered lavish. “Because that’s the language in the Ministry of Manpower about Bobby’s lifestyle,” Noel said during the trial. “He likes to use luxury cars, has three wives,” Noel added. He also mentioned that Bobby enjoyed shopping at shopping centres. “It turns out he’s a top spender,” he said. “Sultan, my initial understanding was that this was a playboy kid,” Noel remarked. Noel added that the first time he heard Bobby’s name was from an inspectorate report that referred to Bobby as a “player”. “This kid is a ‘player’, Sir. Bobby is a ‘player’,” Noel quoted the report. However, he admitted that at the time he did not delve deeply into the internal issues because he was focused on other manpower matters outside the ministry. Later, he claimed to have only recently learned of fears from the Occupational Safety and Health Services Companies Association (PJK3). “Oh, it turns out Bobby likes to extort, likes to pressure,” he said.