Lili Pintauli Siregar has resigned from her post as the deputy chief of the Corruption Eradication Agency (KPK) amid an official inquiry into allegations that she received perks during this year’s MotoGP race despite being one of the top graft busters in Indonesia.
President Joko Widodo signed off on Lili’s resignation today.
“Lili Pintauli Siregar’s resignation letter was received by President Jokowi. The president has signed a Presidential Order for her termination,” Faldo Maldini, a special staffer with the State Secretary Ministry, confirmed to reporters today.
Lili was thrust into the spotlight earlier this month when she was summoned to answer to KPK’s ethics board over reports that she received tickets and accommodation to attend the MotoGP race in Lombok in March. State-owned oil and gas company Pertamina, one of the main sponsors of the grand prix, reportedly gave her the perks.
The embattled deputy chief missed the board’s first hearing, citing scheduling conflicts, but made good on the summon this morning in Jakarta.
While this case serves as a reminder that even KPK sometimes needs KPK-ing, Lili is hardly the first leader of the graft-busting agency to be embroiled in similar controversy.
Two former KPK deputy chiefs, namely Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah, were arrested in 2009 over allegations of power abuse and bribery. The Attorney General’s Office eventually resorted to deponeering (an Indonesian term in which the AGO halts a case with the backing of the House of Representatives) due to public pressure – but still the case showed how vulnerable the position is regardless of one’s innocence.
Lili notably served as a commissioner for the Witness and Victims Protection Agency (LPSK) before becoming KPK’s deputy chief in 2019. Her KPK term was supposed to end in 2023.
