Mulyana drags in KPU top brass
Tony Hotland and Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
The decision to pay bribe money to an audit office official was a collective decision made by top General Elections Commission officials (KPU), corruption suspect Mulyana W. Kusumah says.
In a statement read out by his son in front of the Central Jakarta Salemba Penitentiary where he is being detained, Mulyana says he made the decision to give bribe money to a Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) auditor because the threatened agency had demanded he do so.
Without naming any specific individuals, the statement directly fingers top KPU officials as responsible for the alleged crime.
In the statement Mulyana outlined "seven steps" that led to the night when he was arrested last week in a hotel room by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
The statement is the first detailed explanation by Mulyana about the case.
Mulyana has been accused of trying to pay Rp 300 million (US$31,578) in bribes to influence audit results over state funds managed by the KPU during last year's general elections.
His account says the idea to bribe the BPK first arose after a preliminary audit showed indications of misuse of funds in election materials procurement, including poll boxes which Mulyana had supervised.
This led to the assumption that the BPK was accusing the KPU of corruption. The situation was then exacerbated after a series of interviews with KPU officials demonstrated the BPK auditor was unwilling to accept information supplied by KPU management.
In the fourth phase, KPU members became increasingly worried about the possibility of negative audit results, combined with gestures by the auditor that the officials presumed were of an extortionary nature.
The KPU later decided to accept an alleged offer from a BPK official that he would accept a bribe and agreed to the amount of the bribe which was to be delivered by an unnamed staff member of the KPU secretariat general.
However, the employee suddenly went on 10 days leave and the BPK auditor insisted on sealing the deal only with Mulyana.
Mulyana's lawyer Sirra Prayuna said the statement should be viewed as an "unfortunate" situation where the KPU went up against the BPK, and that the money was not a bribe but only "a little help so the BPK would carry out the audit in the most proportional way".
KPU chairman Nazaruddin Syamsuddin has consistently denied any knowledge about the bribe nor meetings with any BPK auditors, while other KPU officials have stayed silent.
BPK member Hasan Bisri, whom the BPK auditor reports to, refuted Mulyana's statement about the alleged request for a bribe.
"It is his right to say whatever he wants. We'll let the legal system prove things. The BPK is used to being attacked," he said.
The arrest of Mulyana has been praised by observers who say it was high time the long-rumored corruption in the election commission was exposed.
Separately, Vice President Jusuf Kalla assured the suspension of Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hamid Awaluddin should the minister be declared a suspect in the corruption case.
Hamid was a KPU member in charge of the provision of election cards with the total procurement project valued at some Rp 18 billion.