Under House Arrest During Eid, Yaqut Grateful to Perform Sungkem

Former Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas (YCQ) was finally returned to the KPK detention centre in Jakarta on Tuesday afternoon (24/3). Previously, Yaqut’s status was changed to house arrest by the KPK on Thursday (19/3). As a result, unlike other KPK detainees, Yaqut experienced the night of takbir and Eid al-Fitr 1447 Hijriah at home. Yaqut claimed to have received an extraordinary blessing, as he was able to perform sungkem to his mother on that Eid day. “Alhamdulillah, I was able to perform sungkem to my mother, an extraordinary blessing,” Yaqut told the media upon arriving at the KPK building in South Jakarta. Previously, news of Yaqut’s release from the KPK detention centre was revealed by the wife of former Deputy Manpower Minister Noel Ebenezer, who visited her husband on Eid Saturday afternoon (21/3). This was later confirmed by the KPK through spokesperson Budi Prasetyo. At that time, the KPK stated that Yaqut became a house detainee after the family’s request was granted. The KPK noted that the family’s request for a change to house arrest was not due to health reasons. However, today the KPK stated that Yaqut is experiencing health problems. The younger brother of PBNU General Chairman Yahya Cholil Staquf is said to suffer from GERD and acute asthma. KPK Deputy for Enforcement and Execution Asep Guntur Rahayupada revealed that a health check on Yaqut was conducted before changing his status to house arrest last week. From the health check results, it was found that Yaqut suffers from acute GERD. “We inform that one of the results of that health assessment is that the person in question suffers from acute GERD, and endoscopy and colonoscopy have been performed. I’m not too familiar with that medical term, perhaps colleagues can check later. The person also suffers from asthma,” Asep said at the KPK building on Tuesday. With that condition, the KPK temporarily granted Yaqut’s request to become a house detainee in the alleged corruption case of Hajj quotas last Thursday. Then, on Tuesday, the KPK again changed Yaqut’s detention by returning him to the KPK detention centre. Asep stated that returning Yaqut to detention is to ensure the case handling runs smoothly and quickly. “We have returned the detention of Mr YCQ to the state detention centre at K4 in this KPK building,” he said.