TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Attorney General's Office (AGO) responded to the statement made by an expert suggesting to summon former President Joko Widodo to testify during the sugar import corruption trial involving former Trade Minister Thomas Trikasih Lembong, or Tom Lembong.
"These are merely statements, whereas the facts will be considered by the panel of judges, that will be the legal consideration," said the Head of the Legal Information Center of the Attorney General's Office, Harli Siregar, at the Attorney General's Office, South Jakarta, on Monday, June 23, 2025.
According to Harli, only the judges are authorized to make decisions in the court, and the prosecutors carries out decisions taken by the court. "[Summoning Jokowi] is up to the panel of judges," he said.
Wiryawan Chandra, an Administrative Law Expert from Atma Jaya University Yogyakarta, recommended the prosecutor and legal counsel of Tom Lembong summon the president who was in office during the alleged corruption in the sugar import at the Ministry of Trade during the 2015-2016 period as a witness. Wiryawan believed that questioning the former president in Tom Lembong's trial is crucial to clarify the ministry roles in the sugar imports.
If the sitting president gave directives to the minister, there should be evidence such as official notes or other documents, Wiryawan said. Wiryawan argued that the president could not evade the responsibility for the tasks assigned to the ministers.
"A good government official, a good leader, will certainly take responsibility for the tasks assigned," he said at Tom Lembong's corruption trial in Jakarta, on Monday, June 23, 2025.
According to him, the minister is secondary to the president's primary actor in any assignment imposed. Although Wiryawan did not specifically mention the name of the president in his statement during Tom Lembong's trial, it is widely known that during the 2015-2016 period, the president was Joko Widodo (Jokowi).
Mutia Yuantisya contributed to the writing of this article
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