Indonesia's sports minister resigns amid graft probe
Purchase this article for republication
Buy SPH photos
Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng (centre) speaks during a press conference in Jakarta on Dec 7, 2012, to announce his resignation and becomes the first active minister to resign on graft allegations since the country's powerful Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) was established in 2003. Indonesia's sports minister stepped down after being named a suspect in a multi-million-dollar corruption case, in the latest scandal to hit the president's ruling party ahead of 2014 elections. -- PHOTO: AFP
JAKARTA (AFP) - Indonesia's sports minister stepped down Friday after being named a suspect in a multi-million-dollar corruption case, in the latest scandal to hit the president's ruling party ahead of 2014 elections.
Mr Andi Mallarangeng is the first minister to resign on graft allegations since the country's powerful Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) began operating in 2003 with a mandate to crack down on rampant graft.
The case is an embarrassment for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who won a landslide victory for a second term in 2009 on a corruption-fighting platform.
While the country has shown an improvement in tackling corruption over the past decade, that battle has dwindled in recent years.
