Governor of Papua Ensures not to Run Away from the Alleged Corruption Case

JAKARTA, LELEMUKU.COM - The Spokesman for the Governor of Papua, Muhammad Rifai Darus, S.H., M.H said Governor Lukas Enembe is still communicating with investigators from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and ensures that he will not run away from the alleged corruption case he is facing.

"Until now, KPK investigators are still able to communicate well and smoothly with Governor Lukas Enembe, through his legal team. Papua Governor Lukas Enembe has firmly stated that he will face this case and he will not run away or disappear," he said in Jakarta on Monday, September 26, 2022.

Lukas Enembe emphasized that he will consistently choose to continue to cooperate with law enforcement under applicable rules.

"With the record that the state also pays attention to his health condition to maintain his right to life as guaranteed by the Constitution," he continued.

He further assessed that the legal process that was being carried out by Lukas Enembe was distorted due to interference from the central government through the Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menkopolhukam) Mahfud MD who gave a controversial statement.

"The spark of the distortion, of course, came from a press conference held by the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs. The current legal fact is that Governor Lukas Enembe is a suspect on charges/allegations of 1 billion rupiah gratuities, but the massive news that roams around is questioning other opinions that have not been proven to be true and are not part of the allegations/alleged cases of gratification," he explains.

Lukas Enembe and his legal team, said Darus, uphold the rule of law in Indonesia, while still paying attention to the culture, characteristics, and will of the Papuan people in dealing with this problem. However, he regretted the treatment given by the central government through the Menkopolkumham.

"This is detrimental to Mr. Lukas Enembe personally as an Indonesian citizen who should be treated fairly by the state exercising power. We hope that we put forward Trial by The Court instead of cornering the image of Lukas Enembe through Trial By The Press so that your basic rights Lukas Enembe can be maintained as a citizen who is facing the law and remember that the Criminal Procedure Code also upholds the principle of the Presumption of Guilt," he continued.

Responding to the statement by the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs which stated that there were Rp. 1,000 trillion in "special autonomy funds" since 2001 that had been issued by the Central Government and had not been absorbed by the Papuan people. He considered this very wrong and misleading.

"First, this is wrong. Completely wrong. I re-read Pak Mahfud's statement. In addition to the many media who are talkative about reporting this information, we need to clarify that the data submitted has the potential to be misinformation. What is meant is, if the calculations are made only on the budget to the Papua Provincial Government, then the figures mentioned by Mr. Mahfud are wrong and incorrect," he said.

Second, related to Mahfud MD's sentence which says "but the people there can't get anything, they are still poor, it's appropriate that the Papuan people are angry".

"For that quote, perhaps not enough time to explain one by one the achievements of progress made by Lukas Enembe and several previous governors. "The PEOPLE GET NOTHING" is a sentence that hurts us here. We ask that the public can check the economic growth figures Papua from year to year," explained Darus,

He also emphasized that the human development index (HDI) in Papua Province from year to year compared to the percentage of the number of poor people was very prominent and there was a positive increase.

"All of them have significant progress. The percentage of Papuan poor people in 2001 reached 41.8%, and this year it is at 26%. This figure is still high when compared to other regions, but we ask that this change be seen as an effort by all Papuan leaders. so far in developing the Papua region," he explained.

This, said the spokesman, made Governor Lukas Enembe cornered. Because many of the individual rights of Governor Lukas Enembe were reduced or even lost when he was named a suspect.

"Today's practice shows that this is no longer just an attempt to criminalize but has led to a character assassination carried out in a structural, systematic, and massive manner by groups of power owners, especially by parties who are politically opposed to him," he continued.

He continued that the wheels of the government of the Papua Province would continue to run properly with coordination and communication with all leaders and ranks in the Provincial Government so that state duties and services to the community could continue as directed by Lukas Enembe that the Papua Province must continue to run.

It was said, Lukas Enembe's current status is a suspect, but there is a presumption of innocence. So all parties are asked to play a role at their respective levels, lest the public is polluted by something that is not certain the truth. Don't be speculative and provocative. Because his party will face one problem at a time which is currently in progress, namely the case of gratification.

"We must remember that it is the Court that ultimately decides who we are to find the truth and uphold justice. A person is not guilty because of a press conference, but in fact, this is what is happening today. Various kinds of prejudices, assumptions, and interpretations are very important. exploitative news was reported by the media, and in the end, Governor Lukas Enembe was cornered," he concluded. (Albert Batlayeri)