Prabowo Reaffirms Stance on Corruption Case Involving Dadan Hindayana

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has once again addressed the alleged corruption case involving the Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Dadan Hindayana, who was also a former member of his campaign team.

He stated that he will not show favouritism in enforcing corruption laws, asserting that even those close to him are not above the law. “I have proven it. Mr Dadan was part of my success team, my expert team. I was the one who appointed him as Head of the BGN. I was also the one who handed him over to the prosecutor’s office,” Prabowo said during the ‘President Answers’ programme, as reported by Bakom RI on Wednesday (16/9).

Furthermore, Prabowo cited the seizure of assets from the Hotel Sultan as another example of his firm stance. Despite the hotel being owned by Pontjo Sutowo, a personal acquaintance, the law was strictly enforced. He admitted that many parties attempted to lobby him during the asset seizure process.

“Regarding the Hotel Sultan, wow, many people lobbied me. Perhaps Mr Pontjo is considered a prominent figure, and he is indeed my friend. But I have no friends here; this is about the state,” he remarked.

Prabowo also recalled the period when he was appointed Minister of Defence in 2019. He admitted that at that time, he prohibited his close associates from engaging in business with the Ministry of Defence to avoid any conflicts of interest.

“On my first day as Minister of Defence, on my very first night, I gathered all my family and all my close associates from Gerindra. I told them, ‘I will be the Minister of Defence starting tomorrow, and none of you are allowed to seek business within the Ministry of Defence,’” he said.

Prabowo noted that he has maintained this same principle as President. He acknowledged that his party, Gerindra, has been warned that he will not provide protection to any members who commit wrongdoing.

“As soon as I became President, I said clearly to my Gerindra brothers: be careful. Do not assume that because I am President, if you do something wrong, I can protect you. I told them upfront. And you can see how many regents (from) Gerindra have been arrested (by law enforcement), how many mayors, and so on,” he concluded.