Sultan Kemnaker Wants to Become Crown Witness, Noel Ebenezer Asks Not to Attack Each Other

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - An official from the Ministry of Manpower (Kemnaker), nicknamed Sultan Kemnaker, wants to become a crown witness to uncover the case involving Immanuel Ebenezer (Noel), but Noel asks not to attack each other. The figure nicknamed Sultan Kemnaker is one of the defendants in the alleged corruption case of extortion in the processing of K3 certificates, namely Irvian Bobby Mahendro. He proposed himself as a crown witness to reveal the matter involving Noel, who was formerly the Deputy Minister of Manpower (Wamenaker). “That’s correct, Your Honour. I am proposing myself as a crown witness for today’s trial,” Bobby said during the hearing at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Thursday (16/4/2026). He is one of the officials who carried out extortion and collected non-technical fees from Occupational Safety and Health Service Companies (PJK3). In addition to collecting money, Bobby also frequently distributed money and gifts to other ministry officials, such as giving Rp 2.9 billion and a Ducati Scrambler motorbike to Noel. Due to his generosity, Bobby was nicknamed “sultan” in the Kemnaker official circle. Bobby’s proposal as a crown witness was initially opposed by the other ten defendants. They considered that a suspect or defendant proposing themselves as a crown witness is a party with a small or insignificant role. In addition, the proposal to become a crown witness should properly be made when the case is still in the investigation stage, not during the ongoing trial. These objections were responded to by the Public Prosecutor (JPU), but the explanation from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) side did not yet quell the protests from those sitting in the dock. As a result, the panel of judges decided to postpone the examination of the crown witness to Monday (20/4/2026). “For today’s hearing, that is the panel’s stance, we accommodate all the rights of the defendants. We will reopen the hearing with the agenda of examining witnesses among the defendants,” said Judge Ana.