Kaesang Pangarep, the youngest son of President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo, answering questions from journalists while leaving the Corruption Eradication Commission building in Jakarta on Sept 17, 2024. - AFP
JAKARTA: President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's youngest son and Indonesia Solidarity Party (PSI) chairman Kaesang Pangarep went to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) building in Jakarta on Tuesday (Sept 17) to clarify his use of a private jet during a recent overseas trip.
Kaesang told reporters that he and his wife Erina Gudono's trip to the United States in August was on a friend's private jet. Erina was preparing to start her master’s degree course at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, the US, on a partial scholarship.
"I hitched a ride on a friend's plane," Kaesang said on Tuesday, as quoted by tempo.co, adding that he had come to the KPK on his own initiative without any summons.
Interim KPK chairman Nawawi Pomolango said last week that the KPK would proceed with examining allegations that members of the president’s family had accepted gratification in the form of private jet trips.
Kaesang was reported by Indonesian Anti-Corruption Community (MAKI) coordinator Boyamin Saiman and Jakarta State University (UNJ) lecturer Ubaidilah Badrun on Aug 28.
Separately, Kaesang's brother-in-law Bobby Nasution, the mayor of Medan in North Sumatra, was also reported to the KPK for allegedly accepting the use of a private jet. Bobby’s trips reportedly took place in February 2023.
KPK spokesperson Tessa Mahardhika Sugiarto declined to provide further details on the identities of the people who filed reports against Bobby.
The KPK’s directorate of public complaints is currently handling the reports accusing Kaesang and Bobby of gratification.
"Reports on K and BN [Kaesang and Bobby Nasution] are handled by the directorate of public complaints. The directorate in charge of monitoring gifts under the KPK's graft prevention deputy assists with all materials submitted to the directorate of public complaints," Tessa said on Sept 7.
Speaking to reporters after Kaesang's visit as televised by Kompas TV, KPK deputy for graft prevention Pahala Nainggolan said Kaesang had filled out a form on receiving gifts and was asked for information about the chronology of the events and his status as a child of a state official.
He added that the KPK would have 30 days to process Kaesang's statement and determine whether the gift belonged to the state, in which case he would be obligated to pay compensation. The Jakarta Post/ANN
