Farmers want Nurdin charged

JAKARTA: The Association of Indonesian Sugarcane Farmers chairman Arum Sabil said on Tuesday lawmaker Nurdin Halid was the mastermind behind the smuggling of at least 56,000 of over 70,000 tons of sugar into the country.

"We are the first organization to leak the scandal to the public. We know exactly Nurdin's role in the scam. He should be declared a suspect," he said.

Arum made the claim after submitting more evidence to National Police Headquarters against Nurdin, who is also the Confederation of Primary Cooperatives Association (Inkud) chairman.

Nurdin should have been grilled on Monday by police who summoned him for the second time to appear on Thursday. -- JP