Corruption in Indonesia: Suryadharma Ali Suspect in Hajj Pilgrimage Case
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) of Indonesia has named Indonesian Minister of Religious Affairs Suryadharma Ali (who is also Chairman of the Islamic political party PPP) a suspect in a graft case. Reportedly, Ali engaged in self-enrichment by deliberately mishandling state funds that were allocated for the hajj pilgrimage covering financial year 2012-2013. Funds allocated to the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca totaled over IDR 1 trillion (USD $87 million) in that year. KPK spokesman Johan Budi confirmed the case.
Budi said there are at least two pieces of evidence that have led to the naming of Ali as a suspect in the hajj pilgrimage fund graft case. However, the KPK is still calculating how much of the funds have been embezzled.
The KPK detected fraud in budgets for the provision of catering, lodging and transportation for the pilgrimage of Indonesian Muslims (Indonesia contains the world's largest Muslim population). The government of Indonesia manages a fund dedicated to hajj pilgrims who want to make the holy journey to Mecca.
Indonesia has seen a number of high profile corruption cases in the political arena, and which seriously harm people's trust in politics. Ali is the second minister in the second Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono cabinet (2009-present) that has been mentioned a suspect in a graft case. In late 2012, Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng was forced to resign after being implicated in a corruption case involving the construction of a sports complex (Hambalang sports complex) in Bogor (West Java). However, on a lower political level, corruption cases fill the pages of Indonesian newspapers almost on a daily basis.
Further Reading:
• Political Corruption in Indonesia: an Overview
• Indonesia within the Corruption Perceptions Index of 2013
• Corruption in Indonesia: Rudi Rubiandini Guilty of Receiving Bribes
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sudah 2 kasus yang melibatkan departemen agama.
kasus pengadaan kitab dan sekarang dana onh.
memalukan.