Indonesian Cabinet ministers deny claims by losing presidential candidates of misused government aid

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Four Indonesian Cabinet members testified Friday that no rules were violated in the distribution of government aid during the recent election campaign, despite claims by the two losing presidential candidates that it was used for the benefit of the election winner.

Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto won the election with 58.6% of the votes, or more than 96 million ballots, more than twice the amount received by each of the two runner-ups in the three-way race, according to the General Election Commission.

The losing candidates — former Jakarta Gov. Anies Baswedan and former Central Java Gov. Ganjar Pranowo — say the election was marred by irregularities and are asking the Constitutional Court to annul the results and order a revote in separate lawsuits.

They say Subianto’s victory was the result of widespread fraud and that outgoing President Joko Widodo and his administration bent laws and norms to support Subianto, with government social aid used as a tool to buy votes.

Indonesian presidents are expected to remain neutral in elections to succeed them, but Subianto, a former rival of Widodo who twice lost elections to him before joining his government, ran as his successor. He even chose Widodo’s son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as his vice-presidential running mate, even though Raka did not meet a constitutional requirement that candidates be at least 40 years old.

Baswedan and Pranowo argue that Raka should have been disqualified and are asking the court to bar him from a revote. Before the election, Raka was granted a controversial exception to the minimum age requirement by the Constitutional Court, which was then led by Anwar Usman, Widodo’s brother-in-law. Usman was later forced to resign as chief justice for failing to recuse himself.

Hefty social aid from the government was disbursed in the middle of the campaign — far more than the amounts spent during the COVID-19 pandemic — and Widodo distributed funds in person in a number of provinces.

A panel of eight Constitutional Court judges summoned Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy, Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and Social Affairs Minister Tri Rismaharini to obtain their dispositions, said Chief Justice Suhartoyo, who like many Indonesians uses a single name.

Effendy denied that the government aid provided from January to June 2024 favored Subianto in the February presidential election, and said it was dispersed to achieve a target of reducing extreme poverty.

Hartarto, who is also chair of the Golkar Party, part of the coalition supporting Subianto, said a decline in rice production caused by the El Niño phenomenon made the disbursement of social assistance important. He said the aid aimed to protect the poor and vulnerable from rising commodity prices due to El Niño and global supply chain disruptions.

“The government has to implement strategies to maintain the availability of food supplies and people’s purchasing power,” Hartarto said, adding that the program was transparent and would continue to be implemented.

Widely respected Finance Minister Indrawati, a former managing director of the World Bank, said the aid was part of the government budget and had been approved by parliament.

“Its realization and payment pattern is no different compared to the previous six-year period,” Indrawati said. She said the enactment of the 2024 state budget was completed before the electoral commission announced the candidates in the presidential race.

The case will be decided by eight justices instead of the full nine-member court because Usman, who is still on the court as an associate justice, is required to recuse himself.

Subianto himself went to the court twice to challenge the results of the elections he lost to Widodo, but the court rejected his claims as groundless both times. His refusal to accept the results of the 2019 presidential election led to violence that left seven dead in Jakarta.

The hearing began on March 28 and the verdict, expected on April 22, cannot be appealed.

From left, Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economics Airlanga Hartarto, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and Social Affairs Minister Tri Rismaharini listen as Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs Muhadjir Effendy delivers his statement during a hearing on the presidential election result dispute at the Constitutional Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, April 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, center, and Social Affairs Minister Tri Rismaharini, left, arrive to attend a hearing on the presidential election result dispute at the Constitutional Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, April 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Coordinating Minister for Economics Airlanga Hartarto delivers his statement during a hearing on the presidential election result dispute at the Constitutional Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, April 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati delivers her statement during a hearing on the presidential election result dispute at the Constitutional Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, April 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs Muhadjir Effendy arrives to give a statement in a hearing on the presidential election result dispute at the Constitutional Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, April 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Indonesian Social Affairs Minister Tri Rismaharini delivers her statement during a hearing on the presidential election result dispute at the Constitutional Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, April 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Judges preside over a hearing on the presidential election result dispute at the Constitutional Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, April 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Chief Judge Suhartoyo, center, listens as Coordinating Minister for Economics Airlanga Hartarto delivers his statement during a hearing on the presidential election result dispute at the Constitutional Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, April 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati delivers her statement during a hearing on the presidential election result dispute at the Constitutional Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, April 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Beginning with Tyler Seguin on a breakaway, the shots came in waves at Vegas goalie Adin Hill.

He stopped Seguin at point blank, saved Joe Pavelski's rebound and then stopped Seguin again.

This was the Hill of last year's Stanley Cup championship run, and because of him the Golden Knights kept alive their hopes of repeating by beating the Dallas Stars 2-0 on Friday night to force a Game 7.

“You need to make big saves at big times in big games,” Hill said. “That's how you win playoff games. I think our team learned that last year, and any team that's won, their goalies had to catch fire at times.”

The deciding game in the first-round series is Sunday in Dallas.

Hill stopped 23 shots for first shutout since having two in three games in early November. Noah Hanifin broke a scoreless tie at 9:54 of the third period and Mark Stone scored an empty-netter from 176 feet away with 18.9 seconds left to seal the victory.

This was the second winning goal this series for Hanifin, who was a trade-deadline acquisition from Calgary.

“Ever since I got traded here, I was super excited about the opportunity coming to a team with guys that have won,” Hanifin said. “It's a great culture here and I'm fortunate to be a part of it. I feel good about my game and I'm trying to contribute whichever way I can.”

This was a classic goalie duel, with Hill looking like the player who went 11-4 with a .932 save percentage and 2.17 goals goals allowed per game in last year's playoffs. But Hill had been up and down late in this season, and Logan Thompson got the starting job in the series' first four games.

The Knights turned to Hill for Game 5 in their 3-2 loss and then again for this one.

“At the end of the year, Adin was feeling pretty good about this game,” Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “You could see it in practice. It was just pucks were finding their way in. ... He should have confidence. He just pitched a shutout and made some really high-end saves.”

On the other side, Jake Oettinger made 28 saves and entered the game without giving up a goal in this series in the third period or overtime. Hanifin's goal ended Oettinger's streak at 60 saves.

“I would've like to have shut it down tonight, but now that we're in this position, that's why we played so well during the regular season to get Game 7 at home if it comes to that,” Oettinger said. “The ball's in our court. We're on home ice, and now it's on us to take care of business.”

There are numbers that favor either side going into Game 7.

Vegas took a 2-0 lead in this series, and the Knights are 4-0 when holding such an advantage. The Stars have never overcome such a deficit in the nine previous tries since moving to Dallas. NHL teams overall are 351-55 when given that early lead.

But no team has been able to solve Stars coach Pete DeBoer in a seventh game. He is 7-0.

“There's nothing better than Game 7s,” DeBoer said. “That's what you grew up dreaming about playing and the second-best thing is coaching in them.”

This game had electricity from the beginning, both teams missing major scoring opportunities with the tension building as the game progressed. The Golden Knights added some star touches with recording artist Shania Twain cranking the horn before the game and James Holzhauer of Jeopardy fame doing it before the third.

The Golden Knights, as expected given the circumstances, came out flying, living in the Stars' offensive zone early on. Dallas didn't get its first shot on goal until 7:45 into the game, but the Knights failed to cash in on several chances, including a point-blank opportunity by Nicolas Roy and a shot from Keegan Kolesar that went off the post to keep the game scoreless in the first period.

The game remained that way through the second period, but it wasn't for a lack of action. In addition to Hill's three spectacular saves during that one sequence, he later received an assist from Stone, who cleared the puck from the goal line. Logan Stankoven missed an open net for the Stars, and Vegas' Jonathan Marchessault had a shot from the left circle that William Karlsson tipped that caused the crowd to believe the puck went into the net.

Hanifin finally broke through, with his unassisted wrister from the right circle.

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Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill (33) blocks a shot by Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin (91) during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, May 3, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) blocks a shot attempt by the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, May 3, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) blocks a shot by the Vegas Golden Knights during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, May 3, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Dallas Stars left wing Jason Robertson (21) and Vegas Golden Knights right wing Keegan Kolesar (55) vie for the puck during the first period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, May 3, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen (4) attempts a shot on Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill (33) during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, May 3, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Dallas Stars defenseman Esa Lindell (23) knocks down Vegas Golden Knights left wing William Carrier (28) during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, May 3, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) celebrates after scoring against the Dallas Stars during the third period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, May 3, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Vegas Golden Knights celebrate after a goal by Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) during the third period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, May 3, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Vegas Golden Knights celebrate after a goal by Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) during the third period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, May 3, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin, left, celebrates after scoring against the Dallas Stars during the third period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, May 3, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone, right, celebrates after scoring against the Dallas Stars during the third period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, May 3, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)