November 18, 2025 | 03:23 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The relationship between Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman and mining tycoon Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad emerged clearly through a sugarcane plantation project in Bombana, Southeast Sulawesi. Amran, who set a target of achieving sugar self-sufficiency, invited hundreds of companies to submit proposals. The main requirement was simple: they must have money.
Jhonlin Group—through its subsidiary Jhonlin Batu Mandiri, owned by Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad, known widely as Isam—consistently passed every selection stage. Jhonlin Batu Mandiri eventually obtained a 20,000-hectare concession area in the Bombana production forest. "The key is whether they have the money and whether they're serious," Amran said in 2019. He admitted he first got to know Isam after the sugar project in Bombana began rolling in 2017.
The relationship between Amran and Isam remained a topic of political chatter for years after the Bombana project. In October 2024, just days into the Prabowo Subianto administration, Amran was again linked to Isam when he returned as Agriculture Minister. Several pro-Prabowo politicians said Amran's appointment could not be separated from Isam's influence. "I am professional, and I wasn't only appointed minister this time, was I?" Amran said in October 2024.
Several of Amran's colleagues and associates of Isam, who were also Prabowo supporters, said Isam did more than simply push for Amran. They said he also supported other individuals who had worked with him to fill ministerial posts in the Red and White Cabinet. Among them were Public Works Minister Dody Hanggodo, Transportation Minister Dudy Purwagandhi, and Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq. Like Amran, each had crossed paths professionally with Isam.
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