Former minister sues student group

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".