Anita Rachman – If he felt shock at being needled instead of complimented for his whistle-blowing efforts, Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji did not show it as lawmakers on Thursday grilled him about his motives for revealing a Rp 28 billion corruption scandal involving a mid-ranking tax officer.
In questions laced with sarcasm, lawmakers on House of Representatives Commission III overseeing legislation affairs demanded to know why the former National Police chief detective had waited until now to tell everybody about a powerful case broker at police headquarters.
"You have spoken out against your institution [the National Police] here and there. You even wrote about it in your book. How can you really contribute to strengthening the name of your institution, an institution that made you a general?" Susaningtyas Nefo, Handayani Kertapati and Sarifuddin Sudding from the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), asked Susno.
Lawmaker Ruhut Sitompul, from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, went as far as to call Susno a drunken fighter.
"Why are you revealing this list of case brokers now? You should have done this a long time ago. I am sorry, but you seem to be just a drunken fighter," Ruhut said.
Earlier, Ruhut asked Susno to change out of his police uniform, saying the commission still had too much respect for the force.
Just five months ago, the same commission members were full of praise for National Police headquarters, after its top generals, including National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri and Susno, managed to convince them they were not wrong in failing to detain Anggodo Widjojo, the businessman then suspected of playing a major role in fabricating a bribery case against two deputies of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
Susno fought back tears at that earlier hearing, denying he had received Rp 10 billion ($1.1 million) in bribes from tycoon Boedi Sampoerna, the biggest client of the failed Bank Century.
Susno could only smile as lawmakers took broadsides at him on Thursday, asking him if he was making these revelations now only because he had lost power.
"He is like someone on death row. He sings and tells us about cases, hoping to be given a life sentence instead," lawmaker Nudirman Munir, from the Golkar Party, told the Jakarta Globe.
After Susno gave his testimony, some lawmakers demanded he name the powerful case broker within the National Police. Others said Susno could only do so at a closed session or he risked defaming the person.
Sitting beside Susno was his lawyer, Henry Yosodiningrat. "I whispered to him, 'Do not fall for the bait. Do not be foolish or you could find yourself slapped with a defamation suit,'?" Henry told the Globe.
Commission III chairman Benny K Harman, from the Democratic Party, said the commission planned to summon top officials from the National Police and the Attorney General's Office in relation to Susno's testimony.
"Susno says [case broker] Mr. X is not a police general but he is close to the generals. We will summon the National Police chief," Benny said.