Press Release: Denial of Alleged Gratification at ULM

BANJARMASIN – Former Chancellor of the University of Lambung Mangkurat (ULM), Prof. Sutarto Hadi, opened his voice regarding the issue of alleged gratification. Previously, Thursday (4/5/2023), masses from the NGO Kaki held a demonstration in front of the South Kalimantan High Prosecutor’s Office (Kejati Kalsel) in Banjarmasin City. One of his demands is to question the continuation of the alleged corruption in the acceptance of the independent pathway for the Faculty of General and Dental Medicine which was reported in September 2022 to the South Kalimantan Prosecutor’s Office.

Then, on Monday (8/5), Prof. Sutarto did not deny that an inspection had been carried out by the Inspectorate General (Irjen) of Higher Education regarding this matter. “There has been an inspection from the Inspectorate. All committees were examined and I myself was interviewed by the Inspector General’s team at that time. But no criminal act of graft corruption was found,” he said. The Professor of FKIP ULM added that the South Kalimantan Attorney had also formed a team to investigate this allegation.

“The Prosecutor’s Office of South Kalimantan also formed a team, but no such indication was found. So actually there is no problem,” he said. Because of that, Prof. Sutarto hopes that this incorrect issue will not widen. Moreover, currently there is an accreditation assessment process. “We also feel uncomfortable with reports like that. Even though student admissions are currently taking place and it is equally important that there is currently an accreditation process. We don’t want people’s perceptions of ULM to become negative. And efforts to build ULM have been carried out for a long time, and many human resources are produced. And of course ULM will maintain its integrity,” he added.

Meanwhile, the head of the NGO Kaki Kalsel, Husaini, confirmed that the allegations of corruption related to the acceptance of the independent route were not true. “Yesterday there was a report from the public and it has also been examined by the authorized agency and it turns out that based on the results of the examination there were none,” he said. Still related to this, Husaini also apologized because the alleged corruption issue was not proven. “We love ULM, especially since it has contributed to creating many generations. On behalf of the organization, I personally apologize, and I hope it will not cause negative perceptions in society,” he concluded.