Delay oath-taking of 51 legislators: NGOs

JAKARTA: A coalition of non-governmental organizations demanded on Thursday that the General Elections Commission (KPU) delay the installation of 51 legislators implicated in graft cases, pending the final verdict on their cases.

The NGOs, grouped under Coalition Against Rotten Politicians, said in a joint statement that the legislators, who had been declared suspects by police or were currently standing trial for graft cases, were not trustworthy enough to sit as legislators.

"If the KPU insists on giving the go-ahead for their swearing- in, our local council will be a breeding ground for corruption," Ibrahim Fahmi Baduh of Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) said. -- JP