Potential motives behind Tom Lembong graft case

Thomas “Tom” Trikasih Lembong, former trade minister during the first term of former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, is standing trial at the Jakarta Corruption Court on charges related to alleged embezzlement of state funds with regard to raw sugar imports. However, given Tom's support for the opposition candidate Anies Baswedan in the 2024 presidential race, suspicions have arisen that the case has been orchestrated to limit the opposition and even to prevent the emergence of a potential challenger in the next election.

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) arrested Tom in October last year, accusing him of siphoning state money in the importation of raw sugar in 2015 and 2016, which resulted in Rp 578 billion (US$40 million) in losses, according to the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP) which the AGO has used to build the case against him.

Tom, however, argued that another audit by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) showed that no state losses were incurred in the importation commissioned by the Trade Ministry during said period.

According to the Supreme Court, the BPK is considered the sole authority to declare state losses, and the BPKP has no right to conduct a counter audit.

State prosecutors said that as trade minister at the time, Tom approved two botched imports when the country already had a surplus of raw sugar, which was later proven not to have enriched him.

However, his approval is believed to have allowed eight private companies to keep profits intended for the state-owned trading company PT Perusahaan Perdagangan Indonesia (PPI).

Tom said such a policy was common and practiced by his predecessors to maintain the national stock. That the AGO has singled him out only shows inequality before the law.

Having taken into account inconsistencies in the AGO’s accusation, Tom’s legal team suspects political motives behind their client’s prosecution.

However, the AGO has flatly denied the accusations, saying the investigation into Tom’s alleged role in the graft case has followed the due process of law without political intervention.

In a show of support for his ally, Anies turned up for the first court hearing of Tom’s graft trial on March 6. Anies was also seen visiting Tom at the AGO detention center in February.

Tom has pleaded not guilty. He fought the AGO’s decision to name him a graft suspect through a pretrial motion filed with the South Jakarta District Court in November last year. The court, however, turned down his motion.

Anies is still considered a serious rival of President Prabowo Subianto, if he decides to contest the 2029 election. In the February 2024 race, Prabowo, with full support of then sitting president Jokowi, won by a landslide with more than 58.59 percent of the vote, with Anies trailing a distant second with 24.95 percent and Ganjar Pranowo third with 16.47 percent.

Tom played a crucial role in Anies’ campaign team. Apart from serving as co-captain of the team, Tom was an important magnet to woo voters from minority groups, which Anies lacked.

Besides, Tom, who is a prominent businessman, is also regarded as capable of accumulating capital resources for Anies’ campaign in the past and future.

As the dust settled following the noisy presidential race, all the political parties that nominated Anies turned their backs on him and supported President Prabowo’s administration, leaving opposition forces toothless.

But Anies remains a figure to reckon with. Early in March he declared the founding of the mass organization Gerakan Rakyat (People’s Movement), which combines volunteers who supported his presidential bid in 2024 and those disenfranchised by the current political establishment.

Whether Anies will follow Tom's path remains to be seen. History shows that Anies has managed to escape criminalization efforts in the past.