Margareth S. Aritonang and Ina Parlina, Jakarta – Former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin is not the only person implicating party chairman Anas Urbaningrum in the scandal surrounding the construction of a sports facility in Hambalang, West Java.
House of Representatives (DPR) lawmakers Ignatius Mulyono and Zulfadhli have also alleged that Anas' had a role in graft surrounding the Rp 1.52 trillion (US$162.64) construction project.
Zulfadhli, who sits on House Commission X overseeing sports, said that Anas was intensively involved in budget deliberations for the project when he was a Commission X lawmaker before becoming party chairman in 2010.
"Most of the Commission's members attended meetings to discuss the budget for the construction project. I remember that Anas was among the participants," Zulfadhli told reporters on the sidelines of a hearing with Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng on Thursday.
According to Zulfadhli, one of the most difficult discussions regarding the Hambalang project was on obtaining its land certificate. Zulfadhli, a Golkar lawmaker, declined to specify whether Anas had a hand in issuing the certificate.
Mulyono previously claimed that Anas once asked him to contact the National Land Agency (BPN) head Joyo Winoto for an update on the land clearance process for the construction site.
According to Mulyono, Anas, in his capacity as the leader of the Democratic Party in the House at the time of the deliberations, also asked him to ask the Youth and Sports Ministry why the issuance of the certificate had been delayed.
Mulyono alleged that he never spoke to Joyo, claiming that he learned that the titles for the new sports complex were ready three weeks later. Andi, who is also a Democratic Party politician, said that he had no knowledge of the involvement of people outside of the ministry in arranging the land clearances.
"Only people at the ministry were involved in arranging the clearance since the very beginning of process in 2004. Not even one outsider that I know of interfered in the process," Andi said after the hearing on Thursday.
Anas' involvement in the Hambalang project was first alleged by Nazaruddin, currently incarcerated for a conviction in an unrelated graft scandal.
The complexity of the issue, as well as the many parties allegedly involved in the project, has prompted one House lawmaker to call for a special committee to investigate.
"We will do our best to finish the complicated matter. We plan to summon other relevant ministries, such as the Public Works Ministry. However, we are considering establishing a special committee for further investigation unless we fail to reach a solution due to the complexity of the matter," Agus Hermanto, who chairs another committee studying fraud in the project, said.
Nazaruddin recently accused Anas of spending bribe money that Anas received to fund campaign material for his bid to lead the Democratic Party at its congress in 2010.
Separately, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) spokesman Johan Budi said all witnesses related to the graft scandal would be summoned for questioning. "Of course, we will investigate any information and actors in this case," Johan said on Wednesday.