Jakarta. A mid-ranking official with the State Secretariat, a ministry that supports the daily tasks of the president and the vice president, has been suspended after his wife got exposed for openly flaunting their wealth.

Esha Rahmansah Abrar, a senior official with the secretariat’s general affairs bureau, is being investigated after a Twitter account reposted his wife’s published photos of luxury items and the receipt of a car purchase.

"Esha has been suspended from his post to support the ongoing verification into the developing information [about his wife],” State Secretariat spokesman Eddy Cahyono Sugiarto said in a statement on Sunday. 

"The State Secretariat Ministry apologizes to community members for any inconvenience caused by this noise," Eddy added.

He said the ministry is coordinating with anti-corruption and anti-money laundering agencies to investigate the matter, promising that the results of the investigation will be announced publicly.

Twitter account @PartaiSocmed, known for exposing scandals involving public officials and top politicians, ran a series of tweets exposing photos of luxury items and a receipt for the purchase of an MG 5 GT car worth Rp 407.9 million ($26,500) originally posted by Esha’s wife.

The woman reportedly also posted a photo of her posing next to a Mercedes Benz sedan but it cannot be immediately confirmed if the car belongs to the couple.

Esha, a civil servant ranked in echelon 4, is entitled to a monthly basic salary of Rp 4.7 million, although he can enjoy allowances that bring the total monthly payment to around Rp 20 million.

The news came amid public outrage over state officials or their family members flexing personal wealth which led the Corruption Eradication Commission to summon at least four Finance Ministry officials to investigate the source of their assets in recent weeks.

2. Pertama, Kemensetneg memohon maaf kepada masyarakat atas kegaduhan yang telah menimbulkan ketidaknyamanan di masyarakat dan sebagai tindaklanjutnya, Sdr. Esha Rahmansah Abrar telah dinonaktifkan sementara dari jabatannya.

— Sekretariat Negara (@KemensetnegRI) March 19, 2023

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