Election body chief detained
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.