Indonesia removes deputy minister named in graft case

JAKARTA - Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto has signed a decree dismissing Immanuel Ebenezer from his position as deputy manpower minister after being named a suspect in an extortion case, the first sitting member of his Cabinet to be involved in an anti-corruption investigation.

State Secretary Minister Prasetyo Hadi said late on Aug 22 that all legal procedures regarding the case will run as they should, underscoring the President’s intention to fight against corruption.

Ebenezer

allegedly participated in extorting parties

seeking workplace safety certificates, charging them more than 20 times the supposed price, Mr Setyo Budiyanto, chairperson of Indonesia’s anti-graft agency, said in a press conference on Aug 22. The agency known as KPK launched the investigation based on a public complaint.

The deputy minister allegedly got three billion rupiah (S$238,000) in kickbacks in December 2024 for his involvement, Mr Budiyanto said. He was caught, along with about a dozen others, in a sting operation that started on Aug 20 night. Ebenezer will be detained for 20 days for further investigation.

Ebenezer denied his involvement in the extortion and said he hopes to get clemency from the President, local media reported.

The incident will be a test for Mr Prabowo, who in his annual national address last week said he would not tolerate corruption, even among big-name politicians and allies. Ebenezer previously led a pro-Prabowo volunteer group and is now a member of the President’s Gerindra party.

The issue quickly reverberated in Jakarta on Aug 21 when news broke about the sting operation. A lawmaker called the arrest an “own goal” for the government. On social media, Indonesians reposted controversial remarks Ebenezer made earlier in 2025 telling those unhappy with the economy to “just leave the country”.

“This is a heavy blow for us,” Manpower Minister Yassierli said on Aug 21. Mr D. Nicky Fahrizal, a researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, lauded the government’s efforts to clean up its ranks. “The law is being applied without exception, and that deserves credit,” he said.

However, investors will need to see structural reforms to be convinced that corruption can be rooted out of South-east Asia’s largest economy. “If it’s only the top people punished without deeper reform, cases like this will keep happening,” he said. BLOOMBERG