August 14, 2026 | 09:41 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Constitutional law expert Bivitri Susanti from the Indonesia Jentera School of Law criticized President Prabowo Subianto's proposal to grant amnesty to high-ranking officials of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Prabowo proposed this in his speech at the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Annual Session on Friday, August 14, 2026.
In his speech, Prabowo suggested that amnesty could be granted to corrupt SOE officials who confessed their sins. According to Bivitri, Prabowo was mistaken in assuming that restitution of state losses was sufficient to grant forgiveness to corruptors.
"Let us remind ourselves that eradicating corruption is not just about returning state funds, but also about providing a deterrent effect to support prevention and provide justice to citizens," Bivitri said in Cikini, Central Jakarta, Friday, August 14, 2026.
Bivitri finds Prabowo's proposal quite frightening. The idea signals to corruptors that their crimes can be pardoned. Furthermore, corruptors could view the amnesty policy as an incentive to embezzle state funds.
"They could only return some of the corruption money to receive a pardon, while they still enjoy the rest of the stolen money," said Bivitri.
Prabowo Subianto proposed granting amnesty to SOE officials who confess their sins. He suggested holding discussions about setting up an ad hoc court to investigate legal violations committed by SOE directors, both current and former.
Prabowo's proposed investigation could involve SOE officials who have served in office for the past thirty years. The Gerindra Party chair stated that SOEs belong to all Indonesians.
"SOEs should not be owned by directors. They should not be owned by commissioners. They should not be a source of funds for those in power," he said in his speech.
Prabowo said that many SOEs have been unproductive and have lied about their profits. "These SOEs sometimes operate arbitrarily. They are not accountable to the nation and state," he said.
To improve SOE governance, Prabowo admitted to reducing the number of SOEs from 1,074 to around 300-400. In addition to streamlining the number of SOEs, Prabowo stated that ad hoc courts could also be used to investigate past violations.
"Perhaps we should form a special ad hoc court to investigate the board of directors from the past 30 years, perhaps," he told the legislators.
Read: Prabowo Floats Amnesty for SOE Leaders Who 'Repent' After Wrongdoing
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