Mohammad Said, Jakarta – Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo arrived at the State Palace on Thursday afternoon to tender his resignation letter to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo amid an ongoing corruption investigation within his ministry.
Syahrul said that he was received by State Secretary Pratikno during the meeting.
"This afternoon, I requested a meeting with President Jokowi to submit my resignation letter and was received by the state secretary," Syahrul told reporters.
"The primary reason for my resignation is the ongoing legal proceedings that I must address with utmost seriousness," he added.
Syahrul was accompanied by Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya, also a Nasdem politician.
His statement followed last week's actions by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), which included a search of Syahrul's official residence in Jakarta. During the search, banknotes worth tens of billions of rupiah and a dozen firearms were reportedly discovered.
Syahrul was abroad in Italy and Spain when the search took place, returning to Jakarta on Wednesday.
The KPK is currently investigating allegations of bribery related to job promotions within the Agriculture Ministry and fraudulent projects involving private vendors. However, as of now, no further details have been disclosed, and no suspects have been identified.
Syahrul said he didn't want to disturb the president with the legal case, citing another reason for his resignation. He urged the media to respect the presumption of innocence principle.
Earlier in the day, National Democratic Party (Nasdem) Chairman Surya Paloh urged Syahrul, who is also a party member, to meet with the president and submit his resignation.
"I have received a report from Syahrul, and on behalf of the party leadership, I asked him to meet the president immediately and resign from his position as the agriculture minister," Surya said during a news conference at Nasdem Tower in Jakarta.
If implicated, Syahrul would become the second minister from Nasdem to face corruption charges, following the case of former Communication and Informatics Minister Johnny Plate, who became a defendant in a graft trial related to fraudulent internet infrastructure projects.