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Residents shocked 'ordinary fisherman' accused of bribing governor with SG$6,000
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Fishermen unload a tuna from a boat at Ulee Lheu Port in Banda Aceh, Aceh, on Wednesday. (Antara/Irwansyah Putra)
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esidents of Panjang Island in Batam, Riau Islands, were shocked to learn that their neighbor Abu Bakar — who they described as an “ordinary fisherman” — had been named a suspect for allegedly handing out SG$6,000 (US$4,422) in bribes in relation to a reclamation project.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) described Abu as a businessman who had allegedly given the illicit money in a bribery case that has also implicated government officials, including Riau Islands Governor Nurdin Basirun.
However, Abu’s neighbors deemed it impossible that Abu could have owned such large sums of money as they thought he was merely a fisherman who lived in a modest house with an ordinary family.
Nazaruddin, a former village chief of Sijantung in Galang subdistrict, Batam, said he was convinced that the man arrested by the KPK was Abu, a resident of Panjang Island, which is located a one-hour boat ride from Batam and is part of his administration.
"Abu Bakar has always been known as an ordinary fisherman. He earned just enough to live day by day, so I think it's impossible for him to have that much money to bribe [Nurdin],” he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
"When I saw [Abu] on TV and the internet, I was shocked. How could [the KPK] call Abu a businessman?" said Nazaruddin, who served as Sijantung village chief from 2004 to 2017.
He further suspected that there might have been a “mastermind” who had ordered Abu to handover the bribe money to Nurdin. “We want the KPK to reveal who has driven Abu to commit [the crime].”
