Less Than a Year in Office, Prabowo's Cabinet Hit by Corruption Case

3 weeks ago 20

August 23, 2025 | 04:41 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) officially designated Immanuel Ebenezer, known as Noel, as a suspect in the alleged corruption case within the Ministry of Manpower. Noel had previously served as Deputy Minister of Manpower before being dismissed from his position on the same day he was designated a suspect, on Friday, August 22, 2025.

KPK arrested Noel in a sting operation on Wednesday, August 20, 2025. He is suspected of receiving a kickback of Rp3 billion from extorting payments for the issuance of occupational safety and health certificates performed by 13 of his subordinates. The extortion involved demanding that laborers processing the certificates pay Rp6 million instead of the rightful Rp300,000.

Noel's fraudulent actions mark the first corruption case involving a member of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's cabinet. This black mark comes in the tenth month since Prabowo's administration commenced in October 2024.

Constitutional law expert Herdiansyah Hamzah from Mulawarman University stated that the corruption scandal in this cabinet is the quickest to occur compared to previous administrations. For instance, during Joko Widodo's era, a cabinet member, Idrus Marham, was involved in a corruption case in the fourth year as the Minister of Social Affairs at the time. Meanwhile, in Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's era, corruption incidents only surfaced in the second term of his leadership, namely with Bachtiar Chamsah.

Although the comparative speed of these corruption cases does not necessarily correlate with the extent of malfeasance in each leadership, Herdiansyah believes that Noel's case vividly demonstrates Prabowo's fault in constructing the governance framework from the outset. "From the beginning, we have criticized the ministerial appointment process, which indeed lacked an anti-corruption vetting," he stated when contacted on Saturday, August 23, 2025.

According to Herdiansyah, the appointment of ministers in the Red and White Cabinets initially seemed to prioritize political interests over individual backgrounds. He compared the ministerial appointment processes under Prabowo and Jokowi. "At the time, Jokowi requested the Corruption Eradication Commission to provide a list of candidates with red flags," he said. On the other hand, Prabowo, according to Herdiansyah, did not undertake preventive anti-corruption measures of that nature. "Prabowo prioritized his supporters more. Hence, it would be very easy to succumb to corrupt activities," he added.

Through the State Secretary Minister Prasetyo Hadi, Prabowo expressed his respect for the KPK to execute the entire legal process. For Prabowo, this case should serve as a lesson for the ministers in the Red and White Cabinet.

Prabowo, as stated by Prasetyo, urged his subordinates to steer clear of corrupt practices. He also urged them to work diligently in combating corruption. "Everyone must work hard to eradicate corrupt criminal activities," he said on Friday.

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