Ismira Lutfia & Dessy Sagita, Jakarta – Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie on Wednesday reported a number of Indonesian media organizations to the Press Council for allegedly defaming him.

Aburizal's lawyer, Aji Wijaya, said the tycoon-cum-politician named five organizations for reporting that he may have met with disgraced tax official Gayus Tambunan in Bali this month.

Agus Sudibyo, the council's head of ethics and public complaints, said the complaint named online news portal Detik.com, Kompas, Metro TV, Media Indonesia and SCTV's news program Liputan 6.

In a statement, Aji said Aburizal specifically mentioned a Kompas news report on Nov. 12, that cited "information that Kompas obtained," saying Aburizal "met with Gayus on Saturday in a resort that he owns, and was said to have been accompanied by Fuad Hasan, Golkar's head of information and opinion polling."

The managing editor of Kompas, Budiman Tanuredjo, told the Jakarta Globe that the daily "respects the complaint and would wait for the council's summons to discuss the report." He said the newspaper's report was no lie and that it had included responses from the parties mentioned.

"Our news reports are already in compliance with the ethics of journalism," Budiman said, adding that Kompas would abide by the mediation process that the council would likely conduct between the media organizations and Aburizal, who has been frequently mentioned as a likely presidential candidate in 2014.

The Press Council's Agus noted that Aburizal filed the complaints before exercising his right of reply. Agus said the right to reply to the reports could be "an option should we find any violation to the code of ethics."

Arifin Asydad, deputy editor of Detik.com, said his office was still waiting for official notification of Aburizal's report. "Until now we haven't received any summons. Let's wait and we will respond accordingly."

Arifin said Detik never violated journalistic ethics in reporting on Gayus's trip to Bali, which he took after allegedly bribing his way out of a police detention cell.

"We tried our best to cover the story from all aspects, we followed the proper procedure. I don't really understand why we were blamed for defamation," he said. "We will investigate thoroughly any part of our coverage considered unethical."

Earlier on Wednesday, Aburizal told journalists at Golkar's headquarters in West Jakarta that the press should improve its reporting to avoid falsehoods. "This should serve as a lesson to the press and the public as well," Aburizal said.

Deny Indrayana, secretary of the Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force, told reporters on Wednesday that there was no evidence that Gayus had met with the Golkar chairman in Bali. "We have to be fair. There is no indication that Gayus meet Ical," he said, using the tycoon's nickname.

Gayus, who is on trial for corruption, said he went to Bali for a "vacation" with his family.

The press council, a non-governmental body, is empowered by the Press Law to settle disputes between the media and individuals and institutions that take exception to coverage.

Gayus claims to have taken bribes for favorable tax treatment, including from Kaltim Prima Coal, Arutmin and Bumi Resources, all linked to Aburizal.

[Additional reporting from Farouk Arnaz.]