NU clerics deny receiving election donations<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Surabaya\/Surakarta<\/p>\n
Muslim clerics, accused of accepting large sums of money in
\nconnection with the presidential election, denied on Monday that
\nthey had received donations from the campaign team of incumbent
\npresident Megawati Soekarnoputri and running mate Hasyim Muzadi.<\/p>\n
One of clerics included in a roster of donation receivers, Mas
\nSubadar of Roudlatul Ulum Islamic boarding school (pesantren) in
\nPasuruan, said that no one from the Megawati-Hasyim team had
\napproached him and offered him a whopping US$10,000 in exchange
\nfor his support for the pair in the July 5 polls.<\/p>\n
\"I never received nor rejected the money as there has not
\nbeen any offer of money from the Megawati-Hasyim team,\" Subadar
\ntold The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
East Java's General Elections Commission (KPUD) said last
\nFriday that it was investigating a report that a number of NU
\nclerics had received $10,000 each from Hasyim's team to back the
\ntwo in the July 5 election.<\/p>\n
Hasyim, NU's nonactive chairman, had denied the allegations
\nand vowed to accept full responsibility if the charges were
\nproven true.<\/p>\n
He, however, admitted that he sometimes gave donations to NU
\nclerics, but stressed that he and campaign team members had never
\nattempted to buy votes.<\/p>\n
Subadar said the report from the East Java General Elections
\nCommission (KPUD) that he and other revered Nahdlatul Ulama (NU)
\nclerics received bribes from Hasyim was false.<\/p>\n
Another NU cleric Ubaidilah Faqih also denied the report,
\nsaying that no one in the Megawati-Hasyim team had given money to
\nhim or assigned him as a middleman to distribute money to other
\nclerics.<\/p>\n
He also demanded that the KPUD come up with solid evidence to
\nsubstantiate its allegation.<\/p>\n
Ubaidillah, the son of influential cleric Abdullah Faqih of
\nLangitan Islamic boarding school in Tuban, is a staunch supporter
\nof presidential candidate Wiranto and running mate Solahuddin
\nWahid, who were already disqualified in the Sept. 20 runoff.<\/p>\n
A chorus of denials also came from influential NU clerics from
\nCentral Java.<\/p>\n
Muntoha, a cleric from Wonosobo, said through his spokesman
\nthat he did not receive even a dime from the Megawati-Hasyim
\nteam's coffers.<\/p>\n
\"Kyai Muntoha has not received money from any presidential
\ncandidates including Megawati,\" Muntoha's spokesman Kholiq Arief
\ntold the Post.<\/p>\n
Majid Kamal, the son of cleric Maemun Zuber of Sarang Islamic
\nschool in Rembang, said that although Hasyim did have a meeting
\nwith his father days before the election, the vice presidential
\ncandidate said nothing about any financial arrangements.<\/p>\n
Majid said that in the meeting Hasyim only asked his father's
\nblessings. \"Therefore, there was no money involved,\" he said.<\/p>\n
However, sources from NU youth wing said that the provincial
\nbranch of the largest Muslim organization had ordered executives
\nat the regental level to rally support for Megawati and Hasyim.<\/p>\n
They alleged that NU provincial chairman Muhammad Adnan had
\nacted as a middleman to channel the money from the campaign team
\nto the clerics.<\/p>\n
A close aide of Sahal Mahfudz, another cleric accused of
\nreceiving bribes, said that Sahal refused the money and returned
\nit to Adnan's private account.<\/p>\n
Contacted separately, Adnan also denied the vote-buying
\nallegation. \"You can check my account yourself, both my private
\naccount and my account as NU provincial chairman,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/nu-clerics-deny-receiving-election-donations-1447893297",
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