June 5, 2026 | 01:37 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Prabowo Subianto has dismissed Silmy Karim from his post as Deputy Minister of Immigration and Corrections. The removal came swiftly after the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named him a suspect in a corruption case.The decision was announced by State Secretary Minister Prasetyo Hadi. "We are informing you that this afternoon, Bapak President signed the dismissal letter [for Silmy Karim]," Prasetyo told reporters at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Thursday, June 4, 2026.Prasetyo went on to express the administration’s appreciation for the ongoing anti-graft efforts. "We appreciate the extraordinary hard work of law enforcement officers, including the Attorney General’s Office, the Police, and the Corruption Eradication Commission, in combating corruption," he stated.Meanwhile, Prasetyo noted that President Prabowo has not yet settled on a replacement for Silmy. He expressed confidence that the daily operations at the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections will run smoothly under Minister Agus Andrianto."For the time being, no decision has been made regarding who will take over the duties, as the daily tasks can still be managed by the Minister," the Gerindra Party politician added.The KPK launched a series of sting operations across Jakarta, Bandung, and Bali between June 2 and 3, 2026, detaining 18 individuals. KPK Spokesperson Budi Prasetyo noted that the agency reviewed the case on Wednesday evening before deciding to officially escalate the matter to an investigation.Following the initial probe, the KPK named eight individuals as suspects, including Silmy Karim, the active Deputy Minister of Immigration and Penitentiary Affairs."Then, based on the sufficiency of evidence, the KPK named eight individuals as suspects out of the 18 people detained during the sting operation," Budi explained.The KPK revealed that the corruption allegations involve the processing of residency permits for foreign nationals during Silmy's tenure as the Director General of Immigration from 2023 to 2024. Budi stated that investigators uncovered evidence pointing to a paper trail of directives and illicit cash payoffs during that period.These findings formed the groundwork for the KPK to push the case forward to the prosecution stage and name the eight suspects. "The alleged flow of orders or funds took place during the time the individual in question (Silmy) served as the Director General," Budi said at the KPK Red and White Building in South Jakarta on Thursday, June 4, 2026.Intan Setiawanty contributed to this articleRead: Why Prabowo Chose Nanik S. Deyang to Replace Dadan as BGN HeadClick here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
