Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has raided the offices of Golkar lawmakers Setya Novanto and Kahar Muzakir at the House of Representatives in connection with the National Games (PON) construction scandal.
Setya, who is also Golkar's treasurer and leads the party's lawmakers in the House, has been accused of asking an official in Riau, which hosted the games in 2012, for a US$1 million bribe for Golkar lawmakers to approve construction projects for the games.
The raids came as several major political parties, such as the Democratic Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), have been struggling to gain public support for the presidential and legislative elections in 2014 and amid corruption scandals that have taken a toll on their reputations and electoral prospects.
Investigators arrived at the House at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, when the lawmakers had convened a plenary session, and left around 5 p.m.
A host of boxes containing documents and evidence were taken out of the lawmakers' offices by the KPK. Setya was reportedly present as six investigators searched his office.
KPK spokesman Johan Budi said that the raids were conducted as part of the commission's investigation of Riau Governor Rusli Zainal, the only senior Golkar politician to have been charged in the case. "We conducted the raids as we believed there was evidence there [at the House]."
Rusli, whose private residence in West Jakarta was also raided by the KPK on Tuesday, is facing charges in three corruption cases, two of which are connected to the PON scandal and one involving forestry permits.
He allegedly paid Rp 900 million in bribes to local legislators through Riau Sports and Youth Agency head Lukman Abbas to expedite deliberations on a bylaw to increase the budget for construction of PON venues. Rusli also allegedly accepted a bribe from a company that benefited from the bylaw.
Lukman, who was sentenced to five-and-a-half years' imprisonment for his role in the case on Thursday, testified in court that he gave $1 million to Golkar lawmakers to approve the Riau administration's request to the central government to allocate Rp 250 billion for PON projects.
He said that the bribes were channeled to Setya through Kahar following a meeting between Rusli, Setya and Kahar at the House complex in Senayan, South Jakarta.
While Setya has denied Lukman's allegations and accused his peer of perjury, he has admitted to meeting Rusli.
Setya reportedly left his House office through the emergency stairs to evade the assembled journalists waiting for him. This is not the first time that Setya has been implicated in a corruption case. In 1999, he was charged in the Bank Bali scandal, although he was later exonerated in court.
The raids bode ill for Golkar, which previously distanced itself from Rusli after he was named a suspect by the commission last month.
Senior Golkar politician Nudirman Munir criticized the commission for the raids, saying that the KPK had treated lawmakers unfairly. "The House is the people's house and should be protected from any kind of harassments.
Nudirman claimed that the commission had no legal authority to search the offices of lawmakers in the House, demanding that the KPK treat the House with dignity.
The PON scandal has not been the only case placing Golkar politicians in the hot seat. Golkar lawmaker Zulkarnaen Djabar, a member of House Commission VIII overseeing religious affairs, is standing trial in the graft case surrounding the procurement of Korans by the Religious Affairs Ministry.
The Koran scandal has implicated deputy House speaker Priyo Budi Santoso, who is also a member of Golkar's executive body.
The KPK has also recently questioned Golkar lawmaker Bambang Soesatyo for allegedly accepting bribes from former National Police Traffic Corps (Korlantas) chief Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo, who is facing corruption and money laundering charges for allegedly rigging a tender for the procurement of driving simulators.