Prabowo 'Grants Permission' for KPK to Pursue Corruption Cases

President Prabowo Subianto has revealed the moment the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) sought his permission to proceed with legal proceedings against his associates suspected of corruption. Prabowo stated that he instructed the KPK to move forward with the legal process if sufficient evidence was available, emphasizing his stance of being "non-discriminatory" in law enforcement. "There were times when the KPK came to me and said, 'Sir, this official is like this, like this, like this.' What could I do? 'Are we permitted to detain them?'" Prabowo recounted during the "President Answers" program on Thursday (18/9). "Do you have evidence? If you have evidence, please proceed," I said. Then, something happened. One of my deputy ministers, that's his responsibility," he continued. On that occasion, Prabowo also reiterated that he does not discriminate when enforcing corruption cases, stating that even those close to him are not above the law. He even brought up the alleged corruption case involving Dadan Hindayana, the head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) and a former member of his successful campaign team. "I have proven it. Pak Dadan was my campaign team, my expert team. I appointed him as the Head of BGN. I was the one who handed him over to the prosecutor's office," he said. During Prabowo's nearly two-year tenure, at least two deputy ministers in the "Merah Putih" Cabinet have been processed by the KPK. The first was former Deputy Minister of Manpower Immanuel Ebenezer, also known as Noel. The second was former Deputy Minister of Immigration and Correctional Facilities Silmy Karim. Noel is implicated in a case of alleged extortion related to the processing of Occupational Health and Safety (K3) certifications, while Silmy is involved in alleged extortion and gratification related to the processing of foreign national stay permits. Source: CNN Indonesia