KPK delays plan to quiz KPU officials

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) postponed on Monday its plan to directly question Mulyana W. Kusumah and other officials from the General Elections Commission (KPU) in connection with an alleged bribery attempt by Mulyana on a state auditor.

The KPK initially planned to assemble all the KPU officials who have been questioned so far and Mulyana together at commission headquarters and confront each of them with the statements made by their colleagues.

However, the plan has been delayed due to "technical difficulties", said Mulyana's lawyer, Sirra Prayuna.

Mulyana was later separately questioned by two KPK investigators at the Salemba Penitentiary, where he has been detained since April 9.

The questioning, however, still concerned the alleged bribery attempt and did not touch on the issue of corruption in the body of the KPU, Sirra said.

The KPK had previously questioned other KPU officials, including chairman Nazarudin Sjamsuddin, deputy secretary-general Sussongko Soehardjo, staff member Mubari, treasurer Hamdani Amin, and logistics bureau head R.M. Purba.

Meanwhile, KPU member Valina Singka Subekti said the commission would provide its official response on Tuesday to an investigative audit by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), in which the agency found over Rp 90 billion-worth of irregularities in the use of state funds during last year's general election.

The KPU has yet to give an official response or clarification regarding the BPK report although it received the report on April 5.

"We were studying the report, but then got distracted with the arrest of Pak Mulyana (on April 8). But we will definitely give our response because if we don't, it means we accept the BPK findings," Nazarudin told reporters.

Also on Monday, the KPK continued questioning Mubari, a staff member in the KPU secretariat, and also Yohanes Moeljono Soebianto, the president director of PT Pura Baru Utama, the firm that won the tender to supply voter cards.

Moeljono claimed his company won the Rp 69 billion contract through a direct tender and without any brokers.

Aside from PT Pura Baru Utama, the KPK has also questioned executives of three other companies that won tenders for election materials. They are PT Royal Standard (ballot papers), PT Pos Indonesia (distribution services), and PT Metro Pos (registration forms).