President Urged to Intervene as Military Accused of Obstructing Corruption Probe

Chairman of the SETARA Institute’s National Council, Hendardi, has urged President Prabowo Subianto to intervene immediately and take responsibility for the alleged actions of several TNI members who obstructed law enforcement in a corruption case. The case is currently being handled by the National Police’s Corruption Eradication Corps (Kortas Tipikor) and the Jakarta Metropolitan Police’s Special Crimes Directorate.

Hendardi stressed that the involvement of military personnel in protecting parties allegedly implicated in corruption, reportedly linked to an official within the Attorney General’s Office, constitutes a serious violation. According to him, such actions not only interfere with the law but also turn the state’s defence institution into a shield for corruptors.

“When the armed forces are used instead to safeguard the interests of corruption perpetrators, the threat we face is no longer merely corruption, but collusion between power, impunity and the coercive force of the state,” Hendardi said in a written statement on Thursday (9/7).

From a regulatory standpoint, Hendardi reminded that no legislation whatsoever grants TNI members the authority to obstruct lawful investigations or searches by law enforcement officials. Corruption, as an extraordinary crime, must not be protected by armed force.

Hendardi viewed the incident as concrete evidence of the negative effects of the military’s expanding role in civilian affairs in recent years, including involvement in food security, education and public order enforcement.

He assessed that this expansion of roles beyond the defence mandate blurs the line between defence functions and civilian law enforcement. As a result, gaps have emerged for jurisdictional conflicts and abuse of authority to interfere with the law. The government and the House of Representatives (DPR) are therefore urged to promptly evaluate policies on TNI involvement in civilian affairs and return the institution to its constitutional mandate under the principle of civilian supremacy.

Hendardi asked the President to immediately order the TNI Commander to thoroughly investigate the alleged involvement of its members, disclose the results of the examination publicly, and impose criminal and disciplinary sanctions on those proven guilty. The President is also demanded to prohibit the use of TNI personnel to obstruct law enforcement, particularly in cases allegedly involving officials at the Attorney General’s Office.

Furthermore, he urged the police not to back down in the slightest when facing acts of obstruction of justice. Hendardi stressed that whoever the perpetrators are must still be processed according to the law so as not to set a bad precedent for the future.

“Allowing the military to act as protectors of corruptors is tantamount to allowing the rule of law to be defeated by a politics of power that ignores the primary roles of the police, the prosecutors, the TNI and the KPK,” Hendardi concluded.

Earlier, the Head of the TNI Information Centre, Brigadier General Muhammad Nas, issued a clarification regarding TNI soldiers providing security at the residence of the Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus) at the Attorney General’s Office, Febrie Adriansyah, in Kramat Pela, Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, on Wednesday (8/7).

Nas affirmed that the security measures were carried out at the official request of the Attorney General’s Office institution and had gone through lawful coordination mechanisms. According to Nas, the deployment of soldiers had a legal basis and was purely intended as operational protection for the prosecution official carrying out official duties.

“Regarding the security for the Jampidsus, it is true that the security was carried out at the request of the prosecution institution and was coordinated according to the applicable mechanisms and provisions, as stipulated in Presidential Regulation Number 66 of 2025 concerning the protection of prosecutors in carrying out their duties. That security has nothing to do with other issues currently circulating,” Nas said in his official statement on Thursday (9/7/2026).

Nas also responded to speculation linking the presence of TNI soldiers to searches conducted by the National Police’s Kortas Tipikor and the Jakarta Metropolitan Police’s Special Crimes Directorate in connection with a corruption case. Nas stated that the operational security of the prosecution service is an official matter separate from the searches being carried out by the police.

“As for information about searches by the National Police at several locations, that is a separate process and falls under the authority of the National Police,” he concluded.

It is understood that a number of Indonesian National Army (TNI) soldiers were seen standing guard around the residence of the Attorney General for Special Crimes, Febrie Adriansyah, in South Jakarta on Wednesday (8/7). Based on Media Indonesia’s observations, TNI personnel were posted in the Jalan Radio area of Kramat Pela, South Jakarta. Several soldiers were seen behind the fence of a black house with a white-painted building.

Some soldiers were also seen entering and leaving the house. In addition, several personnel were seen carrying long-barrelled weapons while on guard. The security at Febrie’s home was deployed after the police searched the second floor of the Cafe de’Clan Signatur on Jalan Cilandak Tengah, Cipete, South Jakarta, on the same day.

The searches were connected to the handling of three corruption cases, including alleged corruption in coal commodity governance that triggered a mass power blackout, which is being handled by the National Police’s Kortas Tipikor.

The next case concerns the development of corruption cases at PT Asabri (Persero) and PT Asuransi Jiwasraya (Persero) for the 2020 to 2025 period. Meanwhile, the third cluster relates to alleged money laundering in the settlement of PT CBS’s debt obligations to PT KNI within the jurisdiction of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police.

The Golkar Party politician also called on law enforcement not to be selective in dragging the perpetrators to court and to demand the heaviest possible sentences for them.

According to him, the President needs to ensure there is no interference or attempts to obstruct the law enforcement process, including the involvement of TNI members.

According to Hendardi, corruption is an extraordinary crime that gnaws away at the foundations of the state.

TNI headquarters affirmed that the security at the residence of the Attorney General for Special Crimes was carried out based on an official request from the prosecution institution.

TNI headquarters denied deploying personnel or bringing long-barrelled weapons to the Jakarta Metropolitan Police compound.