Tama Salim and Nani Afrida, Jakarta – Indonesian military (TNI) chief Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo has said that he has ordered an investigation into allegations that the commander of Sidoarjo district military command (Kodim), Lt. Col. Risky Indra Wijaya, had an extramarital affair with model-turned-politician Arzeti Bilbina.

"[We] must hold an investigation and the result [of the investigation] must be processed by the military court. The punishment will be commensurate with the severity of the violation. If the violation is serious, there will be an additional punishment that could include a dismissal from duty," Gatot said at military headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, on Monday afternoon.

Gatot said that the TNI would get tough on married personnel having affairs. "We have a regulation stipulating that if a member of the military has an extramarital affair with a relative of a fellow member of the military or married people, we will dismiss them," he said.

Both the House of Representatives and the TNI have decided to wait for conclusive results from the ongoing investigation by the Military Police into the alleged extramarital affair before meting out any punishment.

Deputy House Speaker Agus Hermanto of the Democratic Party urged the public to be patient and let law enforcement uncover the details surrounding the case implicating Arzeti, a member of House Commission VIII overseeing religion, social affairs and women's empowerment.

He said that only after the investigation had been concluded could the House decide whether the case constituted a breach of ethics or a crime.

"Either this falls into the category of crime, in which case we would hand it over to the authorities, or it might be a moral issue, which means that the MKD [House ethics council] would handle it," Agus said on Tuesday. "Let [the investigation] run its course until we have the evidence," he added.

Fellow Deputy House Speaker Fadli Zon from the Gerindra Party said that there was no need to blow the case out of proportion. "It's a trivial pursuit, don't make it out to be more than it actually is. Even [Arzeti's] husband said it was no big deal," Fadli said on Tuesday.

A joint military report revealed that the military police had raided the Arjuna Hotel in Lawang, Malang, on Sunday afternoon after receiving information that a married officer was in the hotel with a woman.

The Military Police found Risky together with Arzeti in a room at the hotel, and took both of them to Military Police headquarters for questioning. The force also summoned Arzeti's husband, Aditya Setiawan.

Fadli said the meeting between Arzeti and Risky could have been professional in nature and urged the Malang Military Police to be transparent in their investigation. "I think that would be better, including for those involved," he said.

Arzeti, a former top fashion model, was appointed a House member to replace fellow party member Imam Nahrawi, who was given the position of youth and sports minister in President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's administration last year.

Arzeti, who represents an electoral district in Sidoarjo, East Java, denied her involvement in any extramarital affair, arguing that she was attended a meeting of Fatayat NU, the female wing of the country's largest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), at the time. She did however admit that she and her husband knew Risky.

Meanwhile, deputy MKD chairman Junimart Girsang of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said the council would also wait for the final results from the Military Police before taking on the case.

"Let's see where it goes. We hope the rumors aren't true because we hear [Arzeti] was there to meet with members of her constituency," he said on Tuesday.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/10/28/tni-chief-promises-severe-punishment.html