Jokowi’s younger son rejects graft complaint over use of a private jet
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Mr Kaesang Pangarep answers questions from journalists while leaving the Corruption Eradication Commission building in Jakarta on Sept 17, 2024.
PHOTO: AFP
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JAKARTA - Mr Kaesang Pangarep, the younger son of President Joko Widodo, has pushed back against an allegation of wrongdoing over the use of a private jet on a recent overseas trip.
Mr Kaesang visited the office of Indonesia’s anti-corruption agency known as KPK on Sept 17 to clarify that he had initially planned to take a commercial flight to the US in August, but had decided to “hitch-hike” with a friend.
“My trip to the US was on my friend’s (private jet),” he said in a statement. He did not provide further details about the identity of the aircraft’s owner.
The budding politician travelled with his wife in August as fierce rallies broke out in Indonesia
The KPK had summoned Mr Kaesang in late August over his use of a private jet, only to cancel the order after a few days, according to a local media report saying that a similar examination was already ongoing in another division of the agency.
Mr Kaesang said on Sept 17 that his visit to the KPK was intended to be an act of transparency and good faith, a “personal initiative as a good citizen and not because of a written summons”. The anti-graft body denied allegations of intervention from Mr Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi.
Mr Widodo’s other son, Vice-President-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka, had earlier come to his younger brother’s defence.
Mr Gibran denied media reports that the private jet was lent by Sea Ltd’s e-commerce arm Shopee, which has invested in Solo city, where he was previously mayor. The incoming vice-president was quoted by KompasTV last week as saying the deal was purely professional.
When asked about the issue, Mr Widodo told reporters last week that “all citizens are equal in the eyes of the law”. BLOOMBERG
