Aceh governor thrown in slammer
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) tossed Aceh governor Abdullah Puteh in prison on Tuesday, pending his trial for his alleged involvement in a graft case in 2002.
Hours after Puteh was sent to Salemba prison in Central Jakarta, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called all Cabinet ministers, who deal with political and security affairs, together for a meeting to discuss the issue.
"When Puteh stands trial, the President will suspend him temporarily. That's what the rule says I guess," State Secretary Sudi Silalahi said after the Cabinet meeting.
Puteh is the first graft suspect to be detained by the KPK, dubbed the antigraft superbody. The detention came after the KPK completed Puteh's case file on his role in the mark-up of a Russian-made helicopter bought by his administration in 2002. State losses resulting from the alleged mark-up have been estimated at Rp 4 billion (US$444,444).
Assuming his trial goes ahead as planned, Puteh will be the first state official to be tried at the anticorruption court.
"They (the KPK) have completed the case file and it is their obligation to detain Abdullah Puteh until his trial starts," Sudi said.
He said that the presidential instruction issued by the previous administration to strip Puteh of his powers and appoint deputy governor Abubakar Azwar to run the administration in the province would be maintained until the court delivered its verdict.
"According to the law, if government officials go on trial they must be suspended from their post," Sudi said.
Aceh police chief Insp. Gen. Bachrumsyah Kasman will maintain his job as the administrator of the state of civil emergency in Aceh, Sudi added.
But Minister of Home Affairs M. Ma'ruf said the government would not take any administrative action against Puteh until the court delivered a legally binding verdict on the governor.
The detention came as a surprise for Puteh, who was summoned by the KPK earlier in the day for another round of questioning.
Puteh refused to comment on his detention, while his lawyer Juan Felix Tampubolon questioned his client's detention, saying he had been cooperative during the investigation and had never resisted any summons by the KPK.
President Susilo has affirmed that the battle against corruption was one of his top priorities in the early months of his administration. He has issued a permit allowing police and prosecutors to launch criminal investigations into five regents and a House of Representatives legislator implicated in separate graft cases.