Dessy Sagita, Farouk Arnaz & Armando Siahaan – Three legislators are suspected of having deliberately omitted a key clause addressing the dangers of tobacco in the health bill, a former lawmaker has said, although police deny the claim.

On Monday, Hakim Sorimuda Pohan, a former Commission IX member from the Democratic Party who now works with the Coalition Against Corruption of the Anti-Tobacco Clause (Kakar), said he had received notification from the National Police that three legislators involved in the case had been named suspects.

"The police wouldn't name someone a suspect unless they had enough evidence, so they must have questioned many witnesses and conducted a thorough examination before they made the decision," he said.

"There's still a long way to go before we can resolve the case, but at least the police are on the right track and making progress."

However, a senior police officer on Monday denied this. Brig. Gen. Saut Usman Nasution, director of transnational crimes at the National Police, even went as far as to say the claim was "absolutely wrong."

"I'm sure you know we need presidential approval before naming a legislator a suspect," he said. "We're still investigating the case and haven't even sent any such request to the president."

The health bill was passed by the House of Representatives in September 2009 but was later found to be missing a clause that was previously included that identified tobacco as an addictive substance.

While the House committee deliberating the bill played off the omission as a "technical error," critics allege the clause was deliberately struck off to appease the powerful tobacco lobby.

The committee's chairwoman, Ribka Tjiptaning, from the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), was later reported to the police by Kakar. Golkar Party legislators Mariani Baramuli and Asiah Salekan were also reported by Kakar in relation to the case.

All three women were serving on House Commission IX, which oversees health affairs, at the time the bill was passed.

Saut cautioned against speculation in the case. "I don't know why [Kakar] keeps making these wild claims about this case, but the fact is that the police are handling the case, not them," he said.

Separately, Trimedya Panjaitan, a PDI-P legislator and head of the party's legal unit, also denied the claims, saying the party had never received notification Ribka had been named a suspect.

Ribka has denied omitting the clause from the bill, but concedes she was opposed to it because it could threaten the livelihood of tobacco farmers. Mariani has also denied the accusation, calling it "ridiculous and unfounded."