Camelia Pasandaran – In a sign that one of the country's most anticipated corruption trials will begin soon, 19 suspects in the Rp 24 billion ($2.7 million) bribery scandal surrounding the appointment of Miranda Goeltom as Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor were detained on Friday.

Panda Nababan, from the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the only sitting lawmaker among those detained, was picked up at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport by members of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) as he was about to depart for a party leadership meeting in Batam on Friday morning.

The other 18, all former lawmakers from the PDI-P, the Golkar Party and the United Development Party (PPP), were detained after being questioned at KPK headquarters in Jakarta.

They included former minister and Golkar politician Paskah Suzetta, senior PDI-P politician Max Moein and former PDI-P lawmaker Agus Condro Prayitno, the whistle-blower who reported the alleged bribery in 2008.

The 19 detained on Friday were among the 26 suspects named last September in the 2004 bribery scandal that has already seen four former lawmakers jailed.

Of the other seven, one has passed away, another has been detained in a separate case, four claim to be ill and one is out of town. "We're going to check on the condition of the four with the hospital and if they are really ill, the case will be delayed," KPK spokesman Johan Budi said.

The 19 current and former lawmakers picked up on Friday are being detained at Salemba, Pondok Bambu and Cipinang penitentiaries, as well as Jakarta Police headquarters. They will initially be detained for 20 days, Johan said, as the investigation continues.

The suspects are accused of receiving traveler's checks worth Rp 150 million to Rp 1.45 billion ($16,000 to $160,000) each to ensure that Miranda was appointed as senior deputy governor. All except for Panda were members of House of Representatives Commission IX, which oversees banking affairs, at the time of the vote.

Panda, the secretary of the PDI-P in the House at the time, is accused of coordinating the votes, distributing the checks and receiving the largest amount – Rp 1.45 billion – in return.

Agus, the whistle-blower, said he didn't mind being detained. "It's not a problem," he said. "We just need to get on with the legal process, the faster the better, so we can also charge the person who provided the checks."

Others questioned the motive behind the detentions. "This is a political case, so we will solve it politically as well," Paskah said. "I was a minister, and I know how these things go."

Golkar and PDI-P politicians said they would cooperate but questioned why the KPK had not gone after the people who initiated the alleged bribery.

"In our opinion, for a systematic investigation, the KPK should start with the person who offered the bribes," said Gayus Lumbuun, who went to the KPK office as the PDI-P's legal division head. But he said his party would cooperate with the investigation as long as it was not politicized.

Nurul Arifin, Golkar's deputy secretary general, said that although none of the former lawmakers detained by the KPK were active party members, Golkar would still help them. "They are registered as our allies, so yes, we will provide them with legal aid," she said.

But she said the "big question" was why Miranda, who has been questioned several times as a witness but hasn't been named a suspect, was not being targeted.

Nudirman Munir, another Golkar lawmaker, insinuated that the arrests were a form of retaliation. "I don't understand why we are witnessing this cherry-picking, after lawmakers pushed for a right to express an opinion and an inquiry?" he said. "Meanwhile, the person who gave the bribes is being left untouched."

The KPK's Johan denied the detentions were related to anything other than the legal process. "The subjective reasons [for the detentions] are to prevent them from fleeing, destroying evidence, repeating the same mistake or influencing the witnesses," he said. "The objective reason is simply that someone who committed corruption can be detained."