Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Arientha Primanita – Legislators are angry that a Supreme Audit Agency report on the Hambalang scandal has been tampered with, leading to the removal of Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng and Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum from the list of those implicated.
The case concerns the graft-tainted construction of the Rp 2.5 trillion ($261 million) Hambalang Sports Stadium in Bogor, West Java.
Teguh Juwarno, a member of the State Finance and Accountability Body (BAKN) at the House of Representatives, said on Friday that the public could not accept that the state's highest audit body, known as BPK, was forced to alter its report.
"The statement of a BPK member that the BPK had suffered from an intervention is very surprising and, at the same time, cause for grave concern," Teguh said. He added that the BPK's independence was enumerated in a 2006 law.
BPK deputy chairman Taufiqurrahman Ruki was quoted by national media as saying he felt his institution's audit of the Hambalang project had been subject to an "intervention" that resulted in the names of a number of contractors being taken off the list of those involved.
"Taufiqurrahman Ruki should name whoever dared to intervene into the BPK. He should see whether [this individual] comes from outside the BPK or from inside," Teguh said.
He said if the individual intervening came from within, it could only be top officials, rather than field auditors. "For me, it is a question: Who on earth could intervene over a BPK member of the caliber of Taufiqurrahman Ruki?" he said.
He urged the BAKN to call for a consultation with the BPK to clarify the matter, warning that leaving it unaddressed might harm the credibility of the BPK as an independent state auditor.
The BPK said in its preliminary audit that it had found evidence of the involvement of Andi and a number of contractors in irregularities related to the Hambalang sports project.
Taufiqurrahman said because the names had disappeared without reason, he has ordered the audit team to work on the report again, adding that if the names remained absent, he would refuse to sign it.
Bambang Soesatyo, a lawmaker from the Golkar Party and a member of House Commission III on legal affairs, also deplored the disappearance of the names from the audit.
"The BPK should divulge which party intervened causing the name of Andi Mallarangeng to no longer appear in connection with the audit on the Hambalang case," Bambang said.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in July named Deddy Kusdinar, the head of the Sports and Youth Affairs Ministry's finance and household bureau, as a suspect in the case for accepting bribes.
The House launched a separate investigation into the case after it emerged that lawmakers had originally approved a Rp 125 billion budget for Hambalang before the figure ballooned to Rp 2.5 trillion.
Earlier this year, facilities under construction at the Bogor complex partly collapsed due to an apparent lack of engineering preparation.
Indra, a member of the House legal commission, said he suspected the involvement of Andi in the Hambalang case to be significant and therefore it would be strange if his name did not appear in the BPK's audit report.
He said Andi's name has often been cited by those questioned over the Hambalang case.
"The logic is simple. It seems impossible that the youth and sports minister did not know of the process or the journey of a project as large as Hambalang. The BPK should not play with fire because this is already as clear as daylight," said Indra, who comes from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).
Indra said the Hambalang project was a major project that could drag down many officials and important people, adding that he was therefore not surprised that Taufiqurrahman claimed there was tampering of the BPK audit.
"It is certain that those involved in the Hambalang case will make efforts to hide their involvement as well as evidence of their involvement, including by conditioning the conclusion of the BPK investigative audit, so that they are not dragged in," he said.
BPK member Agung Firman said when last discussed at a meeting on Sept. 17, the names of Andi and several other state officials were mentioned in the BPK report, but the names were not included in the conclusion.
Also on Friday, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promised to suspend Andi if he was formally implicated in the scandal.
"Any minister that becomes a suspect in a graft case will be suspended so that he can concentrate on his or her case," said Heru Lelono, a presidential staffer.