TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said that the Chinese government had requested the Indonesian government to hand over Uighur terrorist suspects to be exchanged with Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support (BLBI) corruption suspect Samadikun Hartono.

"I think there was a request," Luhut said on Thursday, April 21, 2016, adding that the government had not responded to the request yet.

"It's a different case. [The Uighur prisoners] must be discussed separately," Luhut added.

It was reported that a number of Chinese Uighurs joined the Santoso's armed militant group in Poso, Central Sulawesi.

Luhut said that the government was making efforts to repatriate Samadikun without providing details about the method.

Samadikun, who formerly served as Bank Modern president commissioner, became a fugitive after being sentenced to four years in prison. Samadikun was accused of misusing Rp 169.4 billion (US$12.8 million) of BLBI fund distributed by the government during the 1997 financial crisis.

Samadikun was arrested in China on April 14, 2016 as a result of cooperation between the Chinese government and the National Intelligence Agency (BIN). Samadikun is expected to arrive in Indonesia today.

YOHANES PASKALIS