Anita Rachman, Jakarta – Pending a thorough internal investigation, no orders must be issued to suspend those members of the House of Representatives Ethics Council who allegedly enjoyed a two-day visit to Turkey during a study trip to Greece, lawmakers said on Friday.
Irgan Chairul Mahfiz, secretary general of the United Development Party, said the House Ethics Council must wait for a detailed explanation from those members who stopped in Turkey, as well as the results of its own internal investigation.
"Members of this council must meet and sort this out. I fear this is more to do with an internal conflict between the chairman of the council and its members than anything else," Irgan said.
Ten nongovernmental organizations have filed a request with the House Ethics Council asking it to probe its members who took part in the trip to Greece, and allegedly used state funds for a pleasure trip to Turkey.
"We have the itinerary here, and it states that they spent a day and a half in Turkey. What did they do there? " Ray Rangkuti, the director of the Indonesian Civic Network (LIMA), had asked on Thursday.
The NGOs asked the House Ethics Council to investigate eight of its own members: Nudirman Munir (Golkar), Salim Mengga (Democrat), Darizal Basir (Democrat), Chairuman Harahap (Golkar), Anshori Siregar (Prosperous Justice Party), Abdul Rosaq Rais (National Mandate Party), Usman Ja'far (United Development Party), and Ali Maschan Moesa (National Awakening Party).
On Friday, Nudirman, the Ethics Council deputy chairman who led the Greece visit, told the Jakarta Globe via a text message that the stop in Turkey was only a transit stop. Chairuman offered the same explanation, stating briefly, "it was a flight transit."
Neither Nudirman nor Chairuman replied when the Globe asked what they did in Turkey and when they would release their report on their Greece visit to the public.
Ethics Council chairman Gayus Lumbuun, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said the eight lawmakers faced possible suspension over the issue. He added that because following up on the complaint would mean conducting an investigation of its own members, the eight lawmakers must first be suspended.
"We have three members in the council who did not join the trip. But then, we won't reach the quorum," Gayus said, referring to the fact that just three members would be left to probe the remaining eight members. Thus, Gayus said, only after suspending the eight lawmakers and replacing them with new cadres could the council conduct a probe.
The Ethics Council, however, is already experiencing its own internal conflict, with Gayus insisting that any decisions made by the council are not legitimate while all factions are not involved in the council.
At the moment, two factions, the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) and the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), do not have cadres sitting on the council.
House Speaker Marzuki Alie of the Democratic Party said the Turkey issue could create an unhealthy internal conflict among council members. "The Ethics Council has a problem, do not add to it [with a new conflict]. This will create an unhealthy atmosphere within the council," Marzuki said.
Jafar Hafsah, chairman of the Democratic Party's House faction, rejected the suspension option, saying the Ethics Council should take into account travel difficulties.
He said that complicated airline schedules could force people to wait for hours, a day, or even longer for connecting flights. Jafar said that only if it were proven that the lawmakers intentionally stopped in Turkey for leisure could the council pass judgment.