President's Special Staff Reported over Alleged Abuse of Power
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16 April 2020 16:34 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Advocates M. Sholeh and Tomi Singgih are planning to file a police report against one of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's special staffs Andi Taufan Garuda Putra, over allegations of corruption for sending letters to district heads using the cabinet secretary letterhead.
"That can be considered as an abuse of power. He doesn't have the authority to issue an official state-circular. Special staffs are only tasked as an advisor for the president," said Sholeh to Tempo on Thursday, April 16, 2020.
Sholeh claimed that the abuse of power is apparent because the circular essentially requested the support of district heads for Amdi's company PT Amartha Mikro Fintek in battling the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
According to both Sholeh and Singgih, Andi may be charged for violation of Article 2 of the Corruption Law (Tipikor), "The only thing that remains is to prove is whether the state suffered any losses or not, even if there are no losses, [his actions] can still be seen as a corruption attempt," said Sholeh.
Apart from the alleged abuse of authority, Sholeh said that Andi Taufan could also potentially violate the Criminal law by using the cabinet secretary letterhead in the circular he issued.
In response to the incident, Andi issued a public apology and revoked the circular letter.
M ROSSENO AJI
