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“I hope with this incident, your spirit will not go weak.”
They are the words of a senior Indonesian anti-corruption investigator who was the victim of a brazen acid attack in Jakarta earlier this year.
Novel Baswedan paid a high price for pursuing Indonesia’s corrupt.
Returning home from dawn prayers one morning in April he was attacked with acid, causing severe damage to both his eyes.
From Singapore, where he has been receiving treatment to restore his sight, he has now released a YouTube message calling for the fight against corruption to continue.
“I want to motivate you all, I hope with this incident, your spirit would not go weak,” he said in the clip.
“And to those people who hope that by attacking me, it would bury and stop my effort to eradicate corruption, I want to show them their hope is wasted and useless.”
Mr Baswedan is a senior investigator at the Corruption Eradication Commission, known as the KPK.
He still requires further surgery on his eyes.
“About my eyes, they are still in the healing process, especially my left eye, which still needs some time to heal, and needs surgery so it can function well.”
Four people were held and questioned by police in relation to the acid attack, but have since be released.
Mr Baswedan has suggested a high-ranking police officer is behind the attack, although police have since warned him against making public comments about potential culprits.
The senior investigator was working on a number of high-profile graft cases before the attack, including an investigation into an electronic identification card in which the House of Representatives speaker Setya Novato has also been implicated.
“This is to motivate us all,” Mr Baswedan said.
“We are hoping that going forward we would grow stronger and pay more attention to the interests of the nation and the public.”
