INDONESIA: President Jokowi Widodo’s son appeared before the anti-corruption agency on Tuesday (September 17) to explain why he had to use a private jet to fly to the United States.

The outgoing president’s son, Kaesang Pangarep, flew to the US amidst protests in his country against changes to election laws. In fact, one of the proposed changes, revising the minimum age requirement, would have allowed him to run for office during the regional elections in November.

According to a Bloomberg report, he spoke to reporters after meeting with officials at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in Jakarta on Tuesday. He said that there was no misconduct as he had initially planned to take a commercial flight to the US but subsequently decided to “hitchhike” on a friend’s jet.

He also said, “I came here not because of an invitation, or being summoned, but of my own initiative.”

Although Pangarep did not say who owned the private jet, rumour has it that the Gulfstream GVI G650ER was owned by Singaporean tech tycoon Gang Ye. Gang Ye is the co-founder and chief operating officer of Sea Ltd, which is responsible for the e-commerce platform Shopee.

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The Jakarta Post reported that if that is true, then the use of the jet by Pangarep could constitute unlawful gratuity or trading in influence, considering that Pangarep is Widodo’s son.

According to a Reuters report, Pangarep made the trip to the US with his wife. An official from KPK, Pahala Nainggolan, said that the agency would go through the report over the next 30 days before making a decision. If found guilty of misconduct, he will be asked to repay the cost of using the private jet to the US.

 

Widodo has been under scrutiny for nepotism as he relinquishes office next month. His eldest son, Gibran, will then be sworn in as vice president. Gibran was only allowed to run in February’s presidential election after the Constitutional Court made a contentious ruling that adjusted the minimum age requirements.

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Pangarep has even less political experience than his brother. But he was appointed chairman of the Indonesian Solidarity Party in September 2023, just two days after joining the party. He is now being put forward for a number of roles at the November general elections, one of them being the deputy governor of Central Java.