Former minister sues student group

Evi Mariani The Jakarta Post Jakarta

Former minister of religious affairs Tarmizi Taher complained to the Jakarta Police on Thursday that he had been defamed by a group of students who included his name on a list of "70 politicians with a bad record".

"I'm an intellectual and a cleric ... how can I be accused of having a bad record? I was never involved in corruption or collusion," he said at the police headquarters.

On Jan. 15, the Jakarta Students Action Network (JSAN) published a list of 70 politicians whose names were submitted by "concerned residents".

Tarmizi, who claimed he is not a legislative candidate, said he had contacted a member of JSAN, Dodi Irawan, and JSAN spokeswoman Yuli Prihatmoko, to ask why he was on the list.

"But they could not give me an adequate reason or evidence," Tarmizi added. "So, I reported them to the police. Let the courts decide who is right in this case."

Tarmizi accused JSAN of violating Article 310 of the Criminal Code on defamation. The article stipulates a maximum sentence of 16 months' imprisonment if someone is found guilty of tarnishing a person's reputation through widespread, adverse publicity.

Ahead of the general elections this year, activists, students, academics and political observers launched a nationwide campaign against "crooked" politicians whose names are on the list of legislative aspirants.

The first such campaign was launched on Dec. 23, 2003, urging people not to elect "crooked politicians".