Carlos K.Y. Paath & Ezra Sihite – Corruption Eradication Commission investigators surprised lawmakers on Friday when they showed up to search the office of the much-maligned House of Representatives Budget Committee.
At least 10 investigators from the commission known as the KPK went to the House in the morning to conduct the search related to a case involving National Mandate Party (PAN) lawmaker Wa Ode Nurhayati.
KPK spokesman Johan Budi confirmed the search, the first related to the Regional Infrastructure Adjustment Fund (DPID) case implicating the former Budget Committee member. "We continue to develop the case. We might me able to name other suspects if we find enough evidence," Johan told reporters as the search was under way.
The KPK investigators could not find a key to Wa Ode's office so they forced their way in and later emerged with boxes of files and a computer.
Later they widened their search to include the offices of the Budget Committee leaders, including Melchias Markus Mekeng of the Golkar Party, Olly Dondokambey of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Mirwan Amir of the Democratic Party and Tamsil Linrung of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).
All of them had been earlier named by Wa Ode and subsequently questioned by the KPK as witnesses in the case. Some of them have also come up in connection with other corruption cases.
Mirwan, for instance, has been linked to the scandal over the construction of an athletes' village for the Southeast Asia Games that has implicated many in the Democratic Party.
After more than 10 hours of searching, the KPK investigators left, taking with them boxes of documents, disks and Wa Ode's personal computer.
Wa Ode was arrested in January after the KPK found evidence that she accepted bribes to ensure funding was allocated for projects in three Aceh districts. She allegedly received about Rp 6 billion ($666,000) in October and November 2010. The KPK has named businessman Fahd Arafiq, who allegedly paid the bribe, as another suspect in the case.
Before her arrest, Wa Ode said she would divulge details she claimed would implicate the leadership of the Budget Committee in the bribery scandal. "I will provide all the information to investigators," she said.
House Speaker Marzuki Alie and most of the committee's leaders said they were surprised by the KPK search. "I don't know," Marzuki said when reporters asked him about the actions of the KPK.
Budget Committee chairman Melchias said the search had been blown up by the media. He also accused Wa Ode of trying to implicate him in the case. "She's the one who received the money," he said. Tamsil said he had no problem with the search as long as it followed proper procedure.
Antigraft activists have expressed hope that Wa Ode's arrest will shed light on much bigger cases involving the committee's leaders, who wield great power over where money goes for projects across the country.
"I strongly hope the KPK can draw out more important information and evidence from Wa Ode so that it can be followed up with further investigation of more influential actors," said Ucok Sky Khadafi, coordinator of the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra).
Wa Ode last year had been something of a public darling, gaining considerable media coverage for blowing the whistle on her colleagues.
She claimed in May that lawmakers entrusted with budget oversight were skimming between 7 percent and 15 percent from funds allocated for regional infrastructure projects, resulting in 10 provinces and 126 districts missing out on funding.