Legislator Claims to Have Received Rp 180 Million as 'Thank You Money' from NTB Governor

The trial for the gratuity case involving ‘phantom money’ for three members of the West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) DPRD resumed at the Mataram Corruption Court on Wednesday (22/4/2026). Several NTB DPRD members were summoned as witnesses, with the defendants being Indra Jaya Usman, Hamdan Kasim, and Muhammad Nashib Ikroman alias Acip.

One of the legislators summoned was Nurdin Marjuni, a politician from the Golkar Party, who admitted to receiving Rp 180 million from defendant Hamdan Kasim.

Initially, Nurdin Marjuni was asked by Hamdan Kasim to come to his house. “In the morning, I was called by Mr Hamdan Kasim. ‘Can you come to my house?’,” said Nurdin on Wednesday (22/4/2026).

At Hamdan Kasim’s house, they sat together. There, Nurdin said he was given money. The money was a consignment from NTB Governor Lalu Muhammad Iqbal.

“Mr Nurdin, ‘this is a delivery, a token of thanks from Mr Iqbal. Mr Iqbal, the elected Governor. He has been inaugurated. This is a thank you for us’. The amount was Rp 200 million,” he stated.

Nurdin was a member of the winning team for the Iqbal-Dinda pair in the Sumbawa region during the 2024 Regional Head Election (Pilkada).

Nurdin and Hamdan Kasim are from the same faction, with Hamdan Kasim as the faction leader. At that time, Nurdin admitted he initially wanted to refuse the money. He only needed programmes from the pokir funds.

“I have promises, many promises during the campaign. He (Hamdan Kasim) said it has nothing to do with pokir funds. This is truly a thank you delivery from the Governor to Mr Nurdin,” he said.

From the Rp 200 million, Rp 20 million was deducted by Hamdan Kasim. Thus, Nurdin received Rp 180 million. After agreeing on Rp 180 million, Hamdan Kasim entered his house.

“He (Hamdan Kasim) went into the house and soon came out carrying a bag. This is Rp 180 million in cash,” he said.

After receiving the money, Nurdin went home and kept it. He admitted that after receiving the money, Nurdin felt uneasy. Especially after learning about the distribution of ‘phantom money’ within the NTB DPRD scope starting to emerge in the news.

He tried to communicate with Hamdan Kasim, but was never responded to. Hamdan Kasim was always out of town at that time.

“At that time, he was still out of town, like in Jakarta,” he revealed.

Nurdin then decided to return the money to the NTB High Prosecutor’s Office (Kejati). “I handed over the money to the NTB Kejati,” he emphasised.

Meanwhile, Hamdan Kasim denied Nurdin’s testimony. “The words saying it’s a thank you from Mr Iqbal are lies,” he retorted.