‘Constitutional hardball?’ Beyond the arrest of Indonesia ex-minister Thomas Lembong

The arrest of a former Indonesian trade minister and vocal government critic over a 2015 sugar import graft case marks a tougher anti-corruption stance by the new administration, observers say, while also raising concerns of potential political motivations behind the move.

Thomas Lembong, who served as trade minister under former president Joko Widodo, was named a suspect and arrested on Tuesday night by prosecutors from the attorney general’s office in Jakarta.

Investigators alleged he issued a permit for a private company to import sugar even though Indonesia had a surplus of sugar at the time.

“Indonesia did not need to import sugar but [Lembong] granted a permit to import 105,000 metric tons of raw crystal sugar,” prosecutor Abdul Qohar told a press conference on Tuesday evening.

“The imports took place despite a previous ministerial coordination meeting concluding that there was already a surplus of the commodity that year,” he said, noting that Lembong had not received any approval from other ministerial bodies.

Lembong’s alleged decision led to losses of 400 billion rupiah (US$25.42 million) in state funds, Qohar said, but did not elaborate on what Lembong was accused of having received in return for the permit to the company, identified officially only by its initials, PT AP.