Jakarta, Aug. 2 -- Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka emphasized that President Prabowo Subianto's decision to grant clemencies to former trade minister Tom Lembong and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) Secretary-General Hasto Kristiyanto was made after thorough deliberation.

"I am convinced that every decision Mr. President makes results from comprehensive calculation," he remarked during his official visit to Mataram City, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Province, on Friday (August 1).

In a voice recording cited in Jakarta, he noted that the president granted an abolition to the former minister and an amnesty to the PDIP elite and other convicts as Indonesia nears its 80th independence anniversary on August 17.

On that note,...