Prosecutors Urge Cooperation from Customs Bribery Defendant, Quoting God Bless and Dewa 19 Lyrics

KPK prosecutors quoted lyrics from the bands God Bless and Dewa 19 while requesting that the defendant in the alleged Customs import bribery case, Budiman Bayu Prasojo, remain cooperative during the trial. The prosecutors stated that a cooperative attitude would allow the case to proceed more transparently.

This was stated by the KPK prosecutor during the opening statement in the trial of Budiman, who served as the Head of the Excise Intelligence Section (P2) of the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, at the Central Jakarta Corruption Court on Wednesday (2/9/2026). The prosecutor noted that this alleged bribery case makes the corruption prevention efforts conducted by the KPK across several Customs offices appear to have been ignored.

“The corruption prevention socialisation efforts repeatedly carried out by the KPK in several Customs offices across Indonesia feel as though they have been treated as mere passing wind with the revelation of this case,” said KPK prosecutor M. Takdir.

The prosecutor then quoted lyrics from the song ‘Panggung Sandiwara’ by God Bless, referencing roles that are played falsely and do not reflect the actual conditions on the ground.

“There is a part of the lyrics in the God Bless song ‘Panggung Sandiwara’: ‘every time we get a role, which we must play, there are natural roles and there are pretending roles’,” the prosecutor said.

The prosecutor noted that Budiman has been cooperative since the beginning of the investigation process, despite having the right to deny the allegations. The prosecutor then quoted lyrics from the song ‘Hadapi dengan Senyuman’ by Dewa 19.

“Simply to strengthen the Defendant’s consistency with his cooperative attitude, we quote a snippet of lyrics from the Dewa 19 song composed by Ahmad Dhani,” said the prosecutor.

“Face it with a smile. Let everything that happens, happen,” the prosecutor continued.

The prosecution stated that there will be 25 witnesses and two experts presented in the proof of this case. The prosecutors will present 387 items of physical evidence and electronic evidence in the form of chat logs between Budiman and witnesses, as well as between witnesses involved in the case.

“Furthermore, we, the Prosecution Team of the Corruption Eradication Commission, request the Panel of Judges to examine and assess all the evidence we have submitted carefully, fairly, and objectively, in accordance with the principles of an honest and balanced trial,” the prosecutor concluded.

Previously, Budiman Bayu Prasojo was indicted for receiving gratifications worth Rp 7.6 billion. The prosecutors stated that the gratifications were received in both Indonesian Rupiah and foreign currencies.