Dadang tells of Sutiyoso's bribery for councillor
Dadang tells of Sutiyoso's bribery for councillor
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A bribery scandal casting doubt on the legality of the Jakarta
gubernatorial elections intensified on Thursday, with a
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-Perjuangan)
councillor claiming Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso paid billions of
rupiah to bribe councillors.
Councillor Dadang Hamdani said A. Rahman from the United
Development Party (PPP) had confessed to receiving Rp 250 million
from one of Sutiyoso's men.
"Rahman was serious about his confession. He was not afraid
when I said that I would record his words," Dadang, a failed
deputy gubernatorial candidate, told reporters.
Rahman, however, denied the allegation, saying his confession
was a joke.
Dadang said Rahman confessed when the pair shared a room at
Holiday Inn Bandung on Sept. 16 when the Jakarta City Council
traveled to the capital of the West Java province for a
comparative study.
He said Rahman told him that Sutiyoso's man had earlier
offered him Rp 500 million if he accepted the governor's
accountability speech in July this year and elected Sutiyoso for
a second term.
"I only received Rp 250 million for accepting Sutiyoso's
accountability speech. I did not vote for him in the election.
About Rp 25 million of the funds went to my party's faction,"
Dadang quoted Rahman as saying.
PPP councillors elected Edy Waluyo from the Army faction as
its gubernatorial candidate to run with the PPP's deputy chairman
Ahmad Suady as deputy gubernatorial candidate. During the
election on Sept. 11 Edy and Suady secured 11 votes from
councillors while Sutiyoso, the winner, got 47 votes.
Rahman denied on Thursday receiving any money from Sutiyoso
related to either the accountability speech or the election.
"I was just joking when I said that to Dadang," Rahman told
reporters.
Dadang Hamdani also revealed on Thursday that his faction had
likely received "down payments" of Rp 350 million for electing
Sutiyoso.
"Our faction had discussed it. But (PDI-Perjuangan) faction
chairman Agung Imam Sumanto denied it," Dadang said, adding that
he did not believe Agung's explanation.
Dadang's running mate, gubernatorial candidate Endang
Darmawan, earlier said he had given 10 checks worth Rp 450
million each to councillors of the National Mandate Party (PAN).
Another gubernatorial candidate, Mahfudz Djaelani, also
confessed he had given Rp 200 million to 40 councillors as down
payments for a total Rp 2 billion if the councillors elected him.
Police questioned Mahfudz but dropped the investigation after
he retracted his statement, saying he spent the money taking the
councillors to dinner.
It is difficult to prove money politics but the impact is
quite clear. Several councillors currently drive new luxury cars
instead of their official Hyundai Accent sedans.
Several non-governmental organizations have demanded the
annulment of the results of the elections due to the allegations
of money politics and other irregularities.