JAKARTA (Reuters) – The son of Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited the country’s anti-corruption agency on Tuesday to explain his recent use of a private jet, telling reporters after the meeting that he denied all allegations of misconduct.
The luxurious lifestyle of the president’s youngest son Kaesang Pangarep, as shared by his wife in social media posts, has recently sparked anger in Indonesia.
But on Tuesday Kaesang downplayed the uproar.
“I hitchhiked on the plane of my friend,” he said, after voluntarily meeting anti-graft investigators. “I came here not because of an invitation, or being summoned but of my own initiative.”
News of Kaesang and his wife’s trip to the United States aboard a private jet last month came days after nationwide protests against a proposed law that would have allowed Kaesang, 29, to run in upcoming regional elections.
The parliament retracted the plan following the backlash.
Jokowi, as the outgoing president is known, has faced criticism for attempting to build his political dynasty before leaving office next month.
His eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, 36, was elected as vice president in February and will be inaugurated on Oct. 20.
Deputy head of the anti-graft body Pahala Nainggolan said the agency would determine within the next week whether the president’s youngest son had violated any regulations.
If proven to have improperly received gifts as a son of a state official, Kaesang must repay the cost of taking the private jet to his destination, he said.
Jokowi’s youngest son had initially planned to fly to the U.S. on Aug. 20 on a commercial flight, but ended up boarding the private plane of a friend who was also travelling to the same destination, Kaesang’s spokesperson, Francine Widjojo, said.
(Reporting by Ananda Teresia, Writing by Kate Lamb, Editing by Alex Richardson)
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