Was it politics? Indonesian ex-minister Thomas Lembong’s jail term ignites debate

Analysts question basis of court ruling and whether former trade minister’s close ties to opposition politician Anies Baswedan was a factor in verdict

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Thomas Trikasih Lembong attends his verdict trial at the Central Jakarta Court in Indonesia on July 18. Lembong was jailed for 4½ years in jail and a fine of 750 million rupiah (US$46,000) for improperly granting sugar import permits. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:00pm, 23 Jul 2025Updated: 6:05pm, 23 Jul 2025

A recent prison sentence for a former Indonesian trade minister has raised eyebrows over alleged political motivations, given the defendant’s loyalty to an opposition politician.

Last Friday, judges at a corruption court in Jakarta sentenced Thomas Trikasih Lembong to 4½ years in jail and a fine of 750 million rupiah (US$46,000) for improperly granting sugar import permits, during what the prosecutor said was a surplus of local production, when he was trade minister in 2015-16. Prosecutors previously sought seven years’ imprisonment for Lembong.

Sugar production in 2015 reached 2.49 million tons, while domestic consumption was 2.12 million tons, according to data from the statistics agency. Prosecutors also argued that the policy was issued without inter-ministries discussion, as well as recommendation from the Ministry of Industry.

Lembong’s defence team has denied wrongdoing, saying there was a sugar deficit at that time.

Harvard graduate Lembong was campaign manager for losing candidate Anies Baswedan in last year’s presidential election. Both men served as ministers under former president Joko Widodo’s first-term cabinet, before they were reshuffled in July 2016.

Lembong was once Widodo’s close ally, having written speeches for Widodo from 2013, when he was Jakarta governor, until the end of his first-term presidency in 2019. Among famous Lembong-made speeches for Widodo was his Game of Thrones-laden address during the International Monetary Fund meeting in Bali in 2018, when the former president said “winter is coming” due to the unstable global economy.

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