Jakarta – After much anticipation, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) detained Golkar Party lawmaker Zulkarnaen Djabar on Friday for his alleged role in the Koran procurement scandal at the Religious Affairs Ministry.
The KPK detained Zulkarnaen after questioning him for nearly seven hours. KPK spokesman Johan Budi told reporters on Friday, "Zulkarnaen will be detained for 20 days to help broaden the investigation."
The commission named Zulkarnaen and his son Dendi Prasetya suspects in the scandal on June 29. The men were allegedly involved in corruption surrounding the ministry's procurement of Korans in 2011 and 2012 of computers in 2011.
Zulkarnaen, who sat on House Commission III overseeing religious affairs before he was removed due to the scandal, allegedly rigged procurements by ordering the ministry's directorate for Islamic community affairs to appoint specific companies to win the tenders.
Dendi is the owner of PT Karya Sinergi Alam Indonesia, which was involved in the multi-billion rupiah scandal.
"Investigators allege that Zulkarnaen and Dendi accepted at least Rp 10 billion [US$1.05 million] from companies that won the procurement tenders," Johan said. The amount of the bribe was larger than original estimates of Rp 4 billion ($424,000).
Johan said that the KPK also had confiscated buildings and blocked bank accounts belonging to Zukarnaen.
Zulkarnaen, who came out of questioning with a smile and a thumbs up for reporters, said that he did not know why he was named a suspect on the charges, which carry a maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment. "Lawmakers only make policy. We have nothing to do with the implementation."
Zulkarnaen also denied that he ordered contracts be awarded to Dendi's company. "How could my son's company win the projects if it did not bid in the tender," he said.
According to the KPK, while Dendi's company and a second firm, PT Perkasa, did not win the tenders, Dendi influenced ministry officials to award the contracts to specific companies.
Johan said that the KPK was not scheduled to summon Dendi again after he declined to be questioned on Aug. 24 after his leg was "broken" in an accident.
Zulkarnaen, meanwhile, said he would follow procedure and cooperate with the KPK while exercising his right to counsel.
Zulkarnaen's lawyer, Erman Umar, said that his client would follow the rules. "We would admit it if there was a violation. However, we have not reached the substantial matter of the case."
Erman challenged investigators to show proof that Zulkarnaen had accepted bribes. "The investigators said that they could not show [the evidence] yet," he said.
The lawyer said that the KPK should assume his client was innocent until proven guilty, considering the procurement was a central government project. "The government is the one who takes care of the procurement process, not lawmakers."
Fellow Golkar Party lawmaker Hajriyanto Thohari said that the party was concerned about Zulkarnaen's detention.
Hajriyanto said that recent graft cases implicating Golkar members would not hurt the party's chances in 2014. "The public can be fair and judge if a corruption case is an individual issue," he said. (cor)