JAKARTA: A remote island prison for those convicted of corruption charges.
That was the threat volleyed by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Thursday (Mar 13) as he doubled down on his stance against those convicted of such crimes.
Speaking during a visit to the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education in Jakarta, Prabowo criticised corrupt officials for depriving citizens of resources meant for public welfare, as he shared plans for the development.
“We will remove them from our land. If necessary, I will allocate a special budget to build a prison in a remote area where they cannot escape.
“We will find an island, so that any escapees must face sharks,” Prabowo was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Globe.
According to state news agency Antara, Prabowo further discussed the detrimental impact of corrupt practices on society, highlighting that those involved in such crimes have been among the biggest obstacles to Indonesia’s development efforts.
He further added that teachers, doctors, medical workers and farmers have suffered the most from the negative consequences of the unethical misappropriation of state funds by these corrupt individuals.
“We are determined to try as hard as possible, with all our available resources, to achieve a clean government, free from corruption. With our vast resources and wealth, if possible, we will reduce leakage and corruption,” news outlet Tempo quoted him as saying.
He stressed that he would not back down in the fight to rid the country of corruption.
“They must understand that I am ready to die for this nation and country. I am not afraid of any mafia,” he reportedly said.
This is not the first time that Prabowo has publicly admonished those accused of corruption.
In December, he urged judges to adopt a tougher stance on graft convicts, stating that they deserve to be imprisoned for decades especially if the crimes they committed have caused hundreds of trillions of rupiahs in state losses.
Indonesia has seen a spate of high-profile corruption cases in the country.
Last year, renowned businessman Harvey Moeis was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison and fined US$13 million for his role in a massive tin-mining corruption case.
And just last month, top executives from the subsidiaries of Indonesia’s state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina were among those arrested in relation to a US$12 billion crude oil corruption scandal.
