Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto has refrained from overreacting following the arrest of his Vice Manpower Minister Immanuel Ebenezer by Indonesia’s anti-graft commission (KPK), marking the first corruption case to hit his cabinet.

“The president is not surprised,” State Secretary Minister Prasetyo Hadi told reporters at the presidential palace on Thursday. “He respects the KPK’s process and allows the legal proceedings to take their course.”

Prasetyo said Prabowo would replace Immanuel if he is formally named a corruption suspect.

Immanuel, he added, was considered one of the cabinet’s stronger performers, particularly in handling mass layoffs earlier this year at textile giant Sritex, which declared bankruptcy. “His performance at the ministry was actually commendable,” Prasetyo said.

Still, Prabowo expressed regret over the case, noting that eradicating corruption is a central agenda of his administration and that he had repeatedly warned ministers about his zero-tolerance stance toward graft.

Immanuel was arrested late Wednesday along with several others -- whose identities have not been disclosed -- on allegations of extorting companies seeking occupational safety and health certification from the Manpower Ministry.

During the sting operation, KPK officials also confiscated cash, luxury cars, and motorcycles.

Ministry Ensures Services Continue
Separately, Manpower Minister Yassierli assured the public that certification services would not be disrupted by the arrest. The ministry works with around 1,000 third-party providers to issue occupational safety and health certificates, which remain under ministerial oversight.

“We have asked ministry officials to sign an integrity pact with these service providers,” Yassierli said in a press conference.

He added that the ministry has rotated employees who have held the same posts for more than four years to improve accountability and urged the public to report any irregularities.

“Rotation is important to strengthen integrity in public service,” he said. “This incident must serve as a valuable lesson to prevent future corruption cases. If any certification firms refuse to sign the integrity pact, their licenses will be revoked.”
 

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