Prabowo phones Minister Dody, backs Rp1 trillion state-loss findings at the Ministry of Public Works

The Minister of Public Works and Public Housing, Dody Hanggodo, has revealed that President Prabowo Subianto gave direct support for advancing the resolution of findings of state losses of around Rp1 trillion within the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR). Hanggodo said the President even phoned him while he was on a working visit in West Sumatra. ‘I stopped in the middle of the toll road; perhaps those in Padang know I stopped there because the President called and expressed his appreciation and thanks. And at the same time he asked me to continue this clean-up, to make the Ministry of Public Works far cleaner, with more effective and efficient work, and no more leakages in the Ministry of Public Works,’ he said. He stressed that the current main focus is to ensure the findings are resolved as quickly as possible and that the losses to the state are recovered. ‘Our focus now is indeed on that, on how we can resolve this one trillion as quickly as possible,’ he added. He argued that such a sum would have substantial benefits for the public if returned to the state. ‘How many bridges could we help, how many children could go to school without having to swim to cross, how many houses could be built, how many hospitals could be built,’ he said. Dody also highlighted the practice of returning state losses which has often been paid back in small instalments. ‘If yesterday we had given leniency, very lenient terms to those who made mistakes, they just return it. Even returning small amounts, one million, two million, the arrears remain many. Because they think that returning one million out of billions means it is finished,’ he said. He stressed that the reform measures at the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing have been a direct mandate from the President since the start of his term. ‘I am trying to carry out the orders of President Prabowo Subianto; on the first day I was summoned to Kartanegara, there was only one instruction: to clean up,’ Dody said.