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Analysis: Son of oil tycoon arrested; is his father next
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An attendant fills up a motorcycle with gasoline at a gas station owned by state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina in Jakarta.
(JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
P
ublic trust in the government continues to diminish after a Rp 193.7 trillion (US$11 billion) graft case involving subsidiaries of state-owned oil and gas holding company Pertamina sparked national outcry. Among the nine suspects in the case is Kerry Adrianto Riza, the 38-year-old son of politically connected oil tycoon Muhammad Riza Chalid.
Kerry was arrested in relation to his role as the beneficiary owner of PT Navigator Khatulistiwa and is alleged to have profited from acts of corruption ranging from import-export schemes to fuel adulteration. He may be charged with personal enrichment through inflated fuel shipping contracts for Pertamina.
Now that he is in custody, a question arises: Does President Prabowo Subianto have the guts to nab Riza, widely regarded as the “godfather of oil”?
The Attorney General's Office (AGO) has taken steps in this direction by raiding Riza’s home, where investigators confiscated Rp 883 million and US$1,500 in cash, 89 documents, and two computers. "That is what will be studied and developed. Why [were these materials] in this individual's house? Was he involved? What was his role?" said AGO spokesperson Harli Siregar.
Riza’s control over the country’s oil business is certainly noteworthy, as it spans decades back to Soeharto’s New Order regime. His political clout is even more remarkable since he has long been affiliated with the political elite of different regimes. Among them is Prabowo himself, whom Riza endorsed and donated Rp 500 billion to his presidential campaign in 2014. This raises even more questions about why the President has taken a bold stance in going after such a powerful ally now.
Amid the arrests and nationwide anger over the Pertamina fuel scandal, Prabowo invited ministers from his Red and White Cabinet, institutional heads as well as military and police officials to his office to address the issue of corruption plaguing the country. Deputy Home Minister Bima Arya said afterward that the President was committed to eradicating corruption and planned to create a state body to save the “people’s” money. “’It would be better if those hundreds of trillions were used for nutritious food, education, and health care’,” Bima said, reportedly quoting the President.
Prabowo has turned the fuel scandal on its head to fit his populist rhetoric, continuing to “align” himself with the people. "The President is cleaning house. Don’t play around," Dedek Prayudi, a senior official at the Presidential Communications Office, wrote on his social media account.
