A

ttorney General M. Prasetyo has promoted his son Bayu Adhinugroho to a strategic position at the Jakarta Prosecutor'€™s Office, a move that anticorruption activists suspect will pave the way for the son to further benefit from his father'€™s position.

Initially a subdivision head of general crimes at the Bandung Prosecutor'€™s Office, Bayu will be stationed as a coordinator at the Jakarta Prosecutor'€™s Office, a position that is more strategic and draws him closer to his father'€™s axis of power.

Bayu was among 74 middle-ranking officers to get new positions during job rotations at the institution last week.

Emerson Yuntho of Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said that he had yet to hear of any outstanding achievements by Bayu that could justify the granting of his strategic new post in the capital.

He called on Prasetyo, a former member of pro-government NasDem Party, to explain his son'€™s promotion to the public.

'€œIt would be better if the AGO were to clarify [Bayu'€™s] promotion,'€ Emerson said on Sunday.

Emerson further said that failing to explain the decision to the public could create suspicion that it was a nepotism-based promotion, adding that it was also important for Prasetyo to explain how the appointment of his son met administrative requirements.

'€œThe public has been left uninformed about the achievements behind his new appointment, just like his father'€™s [appointment as attorney general],'€ Emerson added.

In November, President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo was subjected to criticism for insisting on appointing Prasetyo despite antigraft campaigners questioning his track record in fighting graft.

The former NasDem Party legislator was not considered to be among the best and brightest during his regular tenure at the AGO.

Prasetyo did not reach much career success until 2005 when he was appointed junior prosecutor for general crimes (Jampidum) by then attorney general Abdul Rahman Saleh. Prasetyo stayed in the post only until 2006 as he was required to retire.

During his short stint on the job, Prasetyo was known for creating controversy rather than achieving goals.

One noted case was an allegation that he was involved with helping drug dealer Hariono Agus Tjahjono get a lenient sentence.

Hariono, along with Ricky Chandra, was caught by the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) in West Jakarta for stashing 20 kilograms of crystal meth in 2005. While Ricky was sentenced by the court to life in prison, Hariono only received
three years.

In his 33 years with the AGO, Prasetyo spent most of his time in human resource management, intelligence analysis, internal supervision and general crimes prosecution.

Prasetyo was appointed Attorney General for his affiliation with NasDem after his retirement.

AGO spokesman Tony Tubagus Spontana defended the move, saying that there was nothing extraordinary about Bayu'€™s appointment as the coordinator of the Jakarta Prosecutor'€™s Office.

Tony further said that it was normal practice when officials or prosecutors were transferred to prosecutor'€™s offices across the country.

'€œJob rotation is an ordinary practice [at the AGO],'€ Tony said as quoted by Antara news agency.