Why Prabowo's Proposed Amnesty for SOE Officials Is Dangerous
Prabowo was criticized for proposing amnesty for corrupt state-owned enterprise (SOE) officials.
Constitutional law specialist Bivitri Susanti from the Indonesia Jentera School of Law expressed concern over President Prabowo Subianto's recent proposal to grant amnesty to top officials of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). During his address at the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Annual Session on August 14, 2026, Prabowo suggested granting amnesty to corrupt SOE officials who admitted their wrongdoing.
Bivitri argued that Prabowo's assumption that restitution of state losses alone would suffice to forgive corrupt officials was misguided. Bivitri emphasized that eradicating corruption requires more than just returning state funds; it also necessitates a deterrent effect to promote prevention and deliver justice to citizens. Bivitri found Prabowo's proposal alarming, as it would signal to potential corruptors that their crimes could be pardoned.
Moreover, she warned that such an amnesty policy could serve as an incentive for SOE officials to embezzle state funds, as they would only be required to return a portion of the stolen funds to receive forgiveness, while retaining the rest.
Written by urgent.news from Tempo.co English's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
