KPU boss blames secretary in key corruption case

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Chairman of the General Elections Commission (KPU) Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin claims he new nothing about the bribe money given by the commission to certain government officials, legislators and state auditors.

He said that KPU secretary general Safder Yussac should be held responsible for the crime as he was the one who dealt with kickbacks collected from the companies that won business contracts in relation to the implementation of last year's general elections.

"Former KPU secretary general Safder Yussac must be held responsible," Nazaruddin told the Anticorruption Court here on Monday.

He was speaking as a witness in a graft case against two Ministry of Finance officials Soedji Darmano and Ishak Harahap for receiving US$78,846 and Rp 342 million from the elections body. The amounts were given to the officials for obtaining the government's approval for additional funds of Rp 2.7 trillion (US$268.65 million) for the commission to help finance the procurement of election materials.

Nazaruddin and several other high-ranking KPU officials have been charged in the high profile graft case, which centers around the collection of kickbacks from companies, cost mark-ups of election materials, and bribery of government officials, lawmakers and state auditors.

Nazaruddin insisted that he had never issued instructions for KPU officials to give gratuities or bribes to the two Ministry of Finance officials.

But KPU treasurer Hamdani Amin said both Nazaruddin and Yussac should take the blame for the bribery.

"My tasks are to manage the budget, and to collect and spend the tactical funds (kickbacks from companies) in accordance with the KPU leadership's instructions. Deputy KPU treasurer Mohammad Dentjik came to me to ask for money to be given to the two defendants at the instruction of the KPU leadership. Later, I reported the giving of the gratuities to the KPU chairman and secretary general," he told the same court.

He added that he had never checked on whether the funds had reached the defendants or not, and KPU had no accountability obligation on the use of "tactical funds" because they were categorized as "non-budgetary funds."

Hamdani, who has also become a suspect in the graft case, state that he handed over funds on three occasions to Dentjik to be given to the two defendants. "First, I paid $78,846 in July 2004, second Rp 100 million in December, and third Rp 120 million in February, 2005. All the funds were paid through Dentjik," he said.

He also confirmed that all nine KPU members and officials, including current Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hamid Awaluddin, had received money from the collected tactical funds.

The hearing, presided over by Masrudin Chaniago, was adjourned until Thursday to hear testimony from three other witnesses from the KPU.