Indonesia’s Deputy Manpower Minister Arrested In Graft Probe

Indonesia’s deputy manpower minister Immanuel Ebenezer has been arrested in a graft probe, the first cabinet arrest under President Prabowo.

Indonesia’s anti-graft agency has arrested Deputy Manpower Minister Immanuel Ebenezer in connection with an investigation into alleged extortion, making him the first member of President Prabowo Subianto’s cabinet to face arrest on corruption grounds.

Fitroh Rohcahyanto, deputy head of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), confirmed the arrest on Thursday, saying it was linked to suspected irregularities in the manpower ministry’s issuance of safety permits. He declined to provide further details.

The ministry has yet to comment on the arrest, and it remains unclear whether Immanuel, a senior member of Prabowo’s Gerindra Party, has been formally charged.

The arrest represents a significant setback for President Prabowo, who was sworn into office in October and has made combating corruption a central theme of his administration. He has repeatedly pledged to root out graft within government institutions.

Immanuel’s detention could also test public confidence in the president’s reform agenda, particularly as he has positioned his cabinet as a clean break from Indonesia’s entrenched corruption problems.

Despite past reforms, Indonesia continues to grapple with corruption. Transparency International ranked the country 99th out of 180 nations in its 2023 Corruption Perception Index, underscoring the scale of the challenge facing the government.

Immanuel’s arrest now places Prabowo’s anti-graft campaign under sharper scrutiny, as Indonesians watch closely to see whether the administration will pursue further accountability measures within its own ranks.