President Appoints Chairul Tanjung as Acting Minister of Energy

Jakarta (Antara) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has officially appointed Coordinating Economic Minister Chairul Tanjung as Acting Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources replacing Jero Wacik, who had been named a suspect on an alleged extortion case. Head of Public Communication of Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Dwi Purwanto reported here on Wednesday that Chairul Tanjung was appointed under Presidential Decree No. 77/P 2014. "According to the decree, Chairul Tanjung will be Acting Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources until the end of tenure of the United Indonesia Cabinet II 2009-2014 on October 20, 2014," he said. The appointment of Chairul as acting minister is effective from September 9, 2014. Earlier, Energy Minister Jero Wacik had been named as a suspect here on Wednesday in his capacity as the minister in 2011-2012 in connection with an alleged extortion case. "Indeed, an order had been issued on September 2, 2014, regarding investigation on suspect Jero Wacik of the Ministry of Energy in connection with violation of Article 12, paragraph e, or Article 23 of Law No. 31 of 1999 in conjunction with Law No. 20 of 2001 and Article 421 of the Criminal Code," Zulkarnain, the KPK deputy chairman, announced at a press conference. (*)