Legislator accused of forging diploma

PURWOKERTO, Central Java: The Banyumas branch of the Crescent Star Party (PBB) filed a libel case with local police on Monday against one of its legislators for forging his university certificate.

Husen Alkaff, a member of the Banyumas district legislative body, claimed he held an economics certificate from the Institute of Indonesian Cooperatives Management (Ikopin) based in Bandung, West Java. But the Banyumas PBB branch discovered that the document was fake.

Zainuri Ahmad, chairman of the city's PBB branch, said his party had been embarrassed by Husen's conduct.

The Ikopin informed the PBB that it had no record of a graduate named Husen Alkaff in 1991, Zainuri told a press conference while displaying the notification letter from the institute.

Zainuri also said his party had recommended that Husen be removed from the local legislature over the accusation. However, he promised to reinstate the legislator and rehabilitate his good name should he manage to prove his innocence. --JP