Habibie denies Rp 1b campaign donation to PBB<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Rp 1 billion campaign fund scandal involving
\nMinister of Law and Legislation Yusril Ihza Mahendra took an
\nunexpected turn on Monday as associates of B.J. Habibie claimed
\nthat the former president never donated such a sum.<\/p>\n
Speaking on behalf of Habibie, close confidants Ahmad Watik
\nPratiknya, former Minister of Justice Muladi and Golkar Party
\nlegislator Marwah Daud Ibrahim, told journalists that Yusril's
\nclaims that Habibie had donated money to Crescent Star Party
\n(PBB) were untrue.<\/p>\n
Reading a letter from Habibie, Watik said Yusril visited
\nHabibie on Nov. 2, 1998, and asked him to help fund the party's
\nnational working meeting.<\/p>\n
\"As President and in a personal capacity, I could not give the
\nfunds. I suggested that he ask other parties who wanted to help,\"
\nHabibie said in the letter sent from Munchen, Germany on May 5.<\/p>\n
Habibie did not give details about what he meant by \"parties\"
\nwho wanted to help.<\/p>\n
According to Watik, Habibie also denied giving any sort of
\nmemo that would assist Yusril to secure the funds from other
\nparties.<\/p>\n
Habibie's letter then recounted that Yusril, who worked at the
\nState Secretariat at that time, met Habibie in January 1999 and
\ntold him he had obtained the funds.<\/p>\n
Despite initially rejecting reports of receiving huge funds
\nfrom Habibie, Yusril conceded during the PBB congress last month
\nthat he had received donations from Habibie.<\/p>\n
He claimed that he received two separate donations of Rp 1
\nbillion and Rp 500 million.<\/p>\n
Despite the scandal, Yusril was still re-elected as PBB
\nchairman, causing a group of 16 senior party executives and
\nmembers to walk out of the PBB congress meeting in disgust.<\/p>\n
Separately, Fadli Zon, representing the breakaway faction from
\nthe PBB, said on Monday they would sue Yusril over the alleged
\nmoney politics.<\/p>\n
\"All 16 PBB figures rejecting the recent meeting will file a
\nlawsuit against Yusril over the case,\" he said, adding that there
\nneeds to be a thorough investigation into the matter because
\neither Yusril or Habibie is lying.<\/p>\n
\"One of the two is certainly lying and therefore the police
\nshould investigate the case,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, leaders of the Hizbullah Brigade, which is
\naffiliated to the party, said it supported the criticism of the
\n16 senior members, especially as there were signs that Yusril
\nengineered the congress to ensure he would be re-elected.<\/p>\n
M. Soleh Ardiyansah, the brigade's chief, said he has strong
\nevidence that a pro-Yusril group manipulated the congress to win
\nsupport for Yusril's re-election.<\/p>\n
PBB finished among political parties that won the minimum
\nvotes of two percent in last year's elections by securing 13
\nseats in the House of Representatives. (rms\/jun)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/habibie-denies-rp-1b-campaign-donation-to-pbb-1447893297",
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