Mulyana may revise initial statements

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Corruption suspect Mulyana W. Kusumah is likely to revise several statements he made to investigators during his questioning last week because it was "information given under pressure".

Observers suspect the move by Mulyana to change his initial statements could implicate other top officials in the case, and expose what is rumored to be systemic corruption within the General Elections Commission (KPU).

Mulyana, a senior KPU official who was arrested last week allegedly trying to bribe a state auditor, is scheduled to unveil his own version of the events on Friday. His statement is expected to contain several changes to previous statements he has made to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Lawyer Sirra Prayuna said on Thursday that Mulyana would issue a press release about what had happened on the night he was arrested by investigators and important background information about the case.

After visiting his friend behind bars at the Salemba Penitentiary in Central Jakarta, the executive director of non- governmental organization Indemo, Amir Husein Daulay, said Mulyana had answered questions under pressure and was not assisted by legal advisors.

"He was in shock and he was trying to cover up things, such as when he said that he was the one who had initiated all of the meetings and forms of communication with the state auditor," he was quoted as saying by detik.com.

Mulyana was grilled for about eight hours from last Friday night through Saturday morning, after which he was declared a suspect.

He was arrested by the KPK during a meeting with a Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) official last week. He was allegedly caught red-handed passing a bribe to the auditor in a bid to pervert the course of a corruption probe into misuse of trillions of rupiah managed by the KPU during last year's general elections.

Amir said Mulyana would disclose other encounters between him and the BPK auditor, which involved other KPU officials.

Many have long suspected graft practices within the election body, and activists have recently renewed calls to launch a thorough investigation into other KPU officials, including current chairman Nazaruddin Syamsuddin and former KPU official Hamid Awaluddin who is now Minister of Justice and Human Rights.

Also on Thursday, the KPK interrogated three other KPU officials -- financial bureau deputy M. Denpjik, logistics bureau head M. Purba, and secretary general Sussongko Suharjo.

KPK deputy chief Tumpak Hatorangan Panggabean said the three were interrogated to confirm previous statements made by Mulyana and KPU treasurer Hamdani Amin.

Asked about the case on Wednesday, Hamdani said that part of the funds used for the bribery could had been taken from the KPU's "tactical funds", an idea quickly rejected by Nazaruddin who said the funds were more likely to have come from Mulyana's own pocket.

"But if it was taken from the tactical funds, it was not under my authority but Sussongko's," Nazaruddin said after being awarded a distinguished alumni and an honorary professor of Australia's Monash University on Thursday.

Mulyana earlier said he and other as-yet unnamed KPU officials had collected the bribery money.