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HM Prasetyo appointed new attorney general
President Joko âJokowiâ Widodo has appointed HM Prasetyo, a NasDem Party politician, as attorney general, succeeding Basrief Arief
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P
resident Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo has appointed HM Prasetyo, a NasDem Party politician, as attorney general, succeeding Basrief Arief.
'The President has appointed a new attorney general. Pak HM Prasetyo,' said Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjajanto, as quoted by Antara news agency, at the State Palace compound in Jakarta on Thursday.
It was later reported that Jokowi had inaugurated Prasetyo as the attorney general at 2 p.m., today.
Andi further said that Prasetyo had been asked to leave his political party to ensure his independence.
'We requested a guarantee that the candidate [Prasetyo] would quit the NasDem Party. He must be independent as soon as he becomes attorney general. If he could not do that, the President said a change of candidate would be possible,' he said.
State Secretary Pratikno confirmed the appointment, saying that a presidential decision letter regarding Prasetyo's inauguration had been issued Wednesday.
Prasetyo was a junior attorney general for general crime from 2005-2006.
Previously, anti-graft group Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) had called on Jokowi not to give the position to the NasDem Party politician.
Worried that his appointment might create a conflict of interest, ICW said Prasetyo, a lawmaker, had no outstanding achievements when he served as junior attorney general for general crimes.
Several figures had previously been tipped for the post, including two names within the Attorney General's Office, deputy attorney general Andhi Nirwanto and junior attorney general for special crimes Widyo Pramono; as well as outsiders such as Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) chief Muhammad Yusuf, former law and human rights minister Hamid Awaluddin and former judicial mafia taskforce member Mas Achmad Santosa. (ask/ebf)(++++)
