Will jail sentence for former speaker Setya Novanto be a turning point in Indonesia’s fight against graft?
Novanto was hit with one of Indonesia’s heaviest sentences for corruption after being convicted of taking millions of dollars in kickbacks and bribes linked to the national roll-out of government ID cards
A hefty 15-year prison term for one of Indonesia’s top politicians, who allegedly even staged a car crash to evade arrest, could be a turning point in the country’s war on corruption, observers say, as anger boils over against powerful figures living above the law.
Setya Novanto’s case sparked a mix of rage and disbelief as the disgraced house speaker tried to dodge arrest on graft charges, capped by his suspicious crash into a pylon shortly after his palatial estate was raided.
The car accident – widely believed to have been engineered – landed Novanto in a Jakarta hospital bed with medical tubes up his nose, apparently one step ahead of pursuing anti-corruption investigators.
The images sparked a flurry of mocking online memes, including the popular #SaveTiangListrik (save the electric pole) hashtag. It later emerged that Novanto’s now-indicted lawyer had booked his hospital room before the accident happened.
The 62-year-old – hailed by Donald Trump as one of Indonesia’s most powerful men several years ago – then unsuccessfully claimed that a bout of diarrhoea left him unable to participate in his trial.
On Tuesday, he was hit with one of Indonesia’s heaviest sentences for corruption after being convicted of taking millions of dollars in kickbacks and bribes linked to the national roll-out of government ID cards.