Election body chief detained
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
The anticorruption drive has again bared its teeth, with the arrest on Friday of General Elections Commission (KPU) chairman Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin for alleged involvement in graft involving the poll body.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) issued arrest warrant No. 04/V/2005/P.KPK, which was signed by head of the antigraft body's investigation unit Tumpak Hatorangan Panggabean. The warrant also declares Nazaruddin a suspect for allegedly offering or accepting bribes, a violation of articles 5 and 11 of Law No. 31/1999 on corruption eradication, which carries a sentence of between four years in prison and life imprisonment.
"We have incriminating evidence from the witnesses questioned. They all said it was his (Nazaruddin's) responsibility. Their bank accounts will serve as written proof. We expect to discover more evidence," KPK secretary-general Sugiri Syarif said.
Nazaruddin is the fourth KPU official to be named a suspect in the high-profile scandal, which revolves around the arrest of KPU member Mulyana W. Kusumah when he was reportedly caught red- handed trying to bribe a Supreme Audit Agency auditor at a Jakarta hotel on April 8.
KPK then arrested acting secretary-general Sussongko Suhardjo and treasurer Hamdani Amin, who led the investigators to discover Nazaruddin's suspected role in the collection of Rp 20 billion (US$2.1 million) in kickbacks from firms that provided election materials.
Nazaruddin denied any wrongdoing upon first being questioned on Thursday.
The arrest is thought to have taken Nazaruddin by surprise when he arrived at his office at around 11 a.m. only to see KPK investigators waiting for him with an arrest warrant. The investigators also searched his office.
KPK investigators allowed Nazaruddin to say Friday prayers at the KPU office and change his shirt at his house in Jagakarsa, South Jakarta, before taking him to the antigraft commission office on Jl. Veteran in Central Jakarta for questioning. Several KPU staff members shook hands with Nazaruddin in an apparent farewell to their boss.
The questioning was still underway as of 10:30 p.m. on Friday.
While Nazaruddin refused to comment on his arrest, lawyer Yosef Badioda said his client knew nothing about the kickbacks paid by companies that won tenders to procure election materials last year.
Corruption watchdogs first warned of rampant graft within the KPU during the selection process of tenders. Each KPU member handled at least one tender for the procurement of election materials, citing efficiency despite their apparent incompetence.
Responding to Nazaruddin's arrest, House of Representatives lawmaker Akil Mochtar suggested that the legislative body speed up the selection process of new KPU members in order to save the poll body.
"Both the House and the government have to immediately discuss the selection of new KPU members as some of the existing members can no longer carry out their jobs," Akil of the Golkar Party was quoted by Antara as saying.
KPU personnel have been reduced to six, after Hamid Awaluddin was appointed justice and human rights minister in the Cabinet of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Akil asserted the urgency to save the commission, now that regional elections were drawing near.
"The investigation into alleged corruption in the KPU should not disrupt regional elections," he said.
The KPU, he added, would be unable to reach the quorum required to make decisions related to the administering of regional elections. The Constitutional Court has ruled that the KPU oversees Regional Elections Commissions, which organize local polls.
"We don't know who the next KPU member to be arrested will be in connection with the alleged corruption being investigated by the KPK," Akil said, adding that he doubted the credibility of existing KPU members.