Indonesia‘s President Prabowo Calls for Tougher Penalties in Corruption Cases
DEPOK, Indonesia (ANTARA) – Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia’s President, recently spotlighted the plea for harsher sentencing in corruption cases, sparking a debate about the effectiveness of the country’s legal system in combating graft. This call to action comes at the heels of a controversial verdict involving Harvey Moeis, husband of celebrity Sandra Dewi, who was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison, a fine of IDR1 billion, and compelled to pay IDR210 billion in damages – a punishment deemed insufficient considering the state’s losses totaling IDR300 trillion.
Vishnu Juwono, a public policy expert at the University of Indonesia (UI), agrees with the President’s assessment, stating that the current judicial system fails to deliver significant deterrent effects. "The punishments meted out in corruption cases are far from proportional to the magnitude of the crimes committed," he told ANTARA in Depok, West Java.
Consider, for instance, the Harvey Moeis case, where Helena Lim was sentenced to 5 years with a requirement to pay IDR900 million in damages, and Mochtar Riza Pahlevi, former Director of PT Timah, received an 8-year jail term with a fine of IDR750 million. These verdicts pale in comparison to the state’s losses, which reached IDR2.28 trillion due to leasing activities with private smelters, IDR26.65 trillion in payments to mining partners, and IDR271.07 trillion in environmental losses.
Juwono argues that the legal system must impose harsher penalties, including life imprisonment, for corruption cases involving massive state losses. "The sentences should reflect the magnitude of the crimes," he asserted.
Imprisonment reform also tops Juwono’s agenda. He stressed the need to eliminate perks for corrupt officials, like ‘ luxury cells’ and opportunities for early release, as seen in previous cases involving Artalyta Suryani, Freddy Budiman, and Gayus Tambunan.
The Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Juwono contends, must ensure that punishments are meted out fairly and equally, without preferential treatment.
Moreover, Juwono emphasizes the need for reforms in the judicial system. Judges in corruption cases should receive special training and adhere to stricter ethical standards to ensure just verdicts that serve as deterrents.
Juwono welcomed President Prabowo’s stance, asserting that the President’s remarks underscore the urgency to evaluate and upgrade various aspects of the country’s legal system. "Only by enforcing the law rigorously, transparently, and accountability can we restore public trust in our institutions."
