Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto recently clarified what he meant by pardoning those involved in corruption, saying all he wanted was for criminals to return the money they had stolen.

During a trip abroad earlier this month, Prabowo told Indonesian students in Egypt that he planned to pardon corruption convicts who would return stolen property to the state. The corruption amnesty proposal immediately sparked reactions from experts and politicians. Former Chief Minister of Legal Affairs Mohammad Mahfud MD even warned that such leniency could lead to a serious mistake.

Speaking before a national Christmas event in Jakarta, Prabowo told the crowd he had no intention of letting those convicted of corruption not take responsibility for their actions.

“Someone says ‘Prabowo wants to pardon those convicted of corruption.’ This is not the case. What if he wants to repent? So repent, but give back what you stole! Hell no, these people can run away without returning the stolen assets,” Prabowo said Saturday night as the crowd burst into laughter.

“It’s not that I want to forgive the perpetrators of corruption. No, that’s not it. I just want to wake them up. Those who have already sinned, please repent. This does not- Is it not part of religious teachings? Do you have pity on the people? Please return the stolen goods before searching for them (their wealth),” he said.

Habiburrokhman, vice president of Prabowo’s Gerindra Party, recently tried to set the record straight by saying the president’s previous statement in Egypt was focused on maximizing asset recovery.

Indonesia scored 34 on the Corruption Perceptions Index in 2023. The index ranks ordinary people’s perception of public corruption in a country on a scale of 0 to 100. The more The lower the score, the more serious the corruption. To date, Indonesian lawmakers have yet to pass the much-anticipated asset forfeiture bill.

Since coming to power in October, Prabowo has promised here and there that he would get tough on corrupt politicians. He also asked senior executives of American companies to “report directly” to him if they encountered corruption when trying to invest in Indonesia.

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