Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Outspoken member of the House of Representatives Bambang Soesatyo said on Monday that he was ready to face a firing squad if the accusation that he had been involved in a high-profile corruption case was true.
Bambang denied that he received money as kickbacks for helping to expedite the budget allocation for the driving-simulator project at the National Traffic Police Corps (Korlantas).
"I am ready, not only to be jailed but to be shot dead if I am proven guilty of the crime," Bambang said. Bambang said that he was shocked at the allegation.
"I was shocked by news reports suggesting that I, along with other lawmakers from the House Commission III, each received more than Rp 1 billion [US$103,018] in return for allocating certain sums from the State Budget for the driving-simulator project," said Bambang, a politician from the Golkar Party,
Last week, the KPK questioned Bambang with three other high-profile House members as witnesses in the graft case centering on the procurement of driving simulators for Korlantas.
The three lawmakers – Aziz Syamsuddin also of Golkar, Herman Hery of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Benny Kabur Harman of the Democratic Party – served as members of House Commission III on law and human rights, which oversees the work of the National Police.
The KPK summonsed the four members of the House following information from former Democratic Party lawmaker and party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin, who accused Bambang, Azis, Herman and Benny of complicity in the graft case.
The KPK has named former Korlantas chief Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo as a suspect in the graft case which caused losses of Rp 100 billion ($10.45 million) to the state.
Bambang's statement is akin to former Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum's response when asked about his alleged involvement in the Hambalang, West Java, sports complex graft case.
Anas said that he would be ready to be hanged from the National Monument (Monas) or face a team of executioners if he was involved in the graft case. "If I stole 1 rupiah in the Hambalang case, hang me from Monas," Anas said.
Almost a year later, the KPK named Anas a suspect for allegedly accepting a Toyota Harrier car as a gratuity from a construction firm that won the tender for the construction of the Rp 1.17 trillion Hambalang project.
Bambang also said on Monday said that the charges against him were politically motivated. He alleged it was connected with his being outspoken against government policies especially on the issue of the Bank Century bailout.
In the past week, Bambang, along with fellow members of the House-sanctioned monitoring team on the Bank Century bailout case, openly called on Anas to encourage him to reveal information on the scandal.
The team's public move breathed new life to the 4-year-old case and reignited suspicions that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his Democratic Party had benefited from the controversial bailout.
"I will never stop voicing the truth," Bambang, who is also a mining businessman, said. He added that he regretted the KPK's decision to question him based only on a statement from Nazaruddin. "Such a baseless allegation can be considered as character assassination," Bambang said.
Meanwhile, KPK spokesman Johan Budi said that the anti-graft body would once again summons Bambang for another round of questioning. "If the investigators need someone to attend questioning then of course we will send them a summons," Johan told reporters on Monday.