Robert Go, Jakarta – A former government prosecutor has accused presidential candidate Akbar Tandjung of reneging on promises to make under-the-table payments in exchange for inside information about the Golkar leader's graft trial.
Mr Kito Irkhamni, a former aide of Attorney-General M.A. Rachman, is suing Mr Akbar for six billion rupiah (S$1.14 million). He said Mr Akbar had hired him in July 2002 to snoop on court discussions on the politician's graft trial and report back sensitive information.
Mr Akbar was initially convicted of graft, but was set free by the Supreme Court last month. Although he has allegedly made two payments totalling 325 million rupiah to Mr Kito, the former prosecutor claimed he was still owed another one billion rupiah.
In addition to that amount, Mr Kito is also claiming an additional five billion rupiah for moral and material damages.
On Thursday, the plaintiff told reporters: "I was the first person asked by Akbar Tandjung to become his informant and to monitor the progress of his graft trial. My information to him was always 100 per cent correct. But after his case was finished, the money was never fully paid."
Mr Kito added that he had once tried to get the arrangement in writing, but Mr Akbar allegedly refused and said the two parties "both know what's going on and should trust one another".
This latest legal trouble for Mr Akbar comes just 10 days ahead of Indonesia's biggest general election, which his Golkar party is expected to contest strongly.
Political analysts and Golkar officials said that there was a good possibility this lawsuit had been filed to discredit publicly the party of former strongman Suharto, as well as to hurt Mr Akbar's chances of winning Golkar's nomination for the presidency.
Such scandals, regardless of their outcomes, only reinforce the idea that corruption is widespread in Indonesia, which is ranked consistently near the top of international watchdog groups' lists of the world's most corrupt countries.
Yesterday, Golkar deputy secretary-general Syamsul Muarif told reporters: "This is clearly politics. Why is this case being put forward just now?" Mr Syamsul, who is also Cabinet minister for communications and information, said those who had pushed for the lawsuit wanted the public to perceive Golkar as a corrupt party.
Mr Yusuf Kalla, Coordinating Minister for Social Welfare and also a top official of Golkar, said the real focus was damaging Mr Akbar's chances for the presidency, and not the party itself. "I think this will have an impact more on Akbar. This won't become a Golkar issue," he said.
Indonesia's courts are notorious for being bribery prone and inconsistent in their decisions. Legal experts said it was not uncommon for officials in the judiciary, like Mr Kito, to sell "side services" to plaintiffs or defendants.
Observers, however, added that such practices were illegal and the authorities could choose to prosecute such cases.
It remains unclear why Mr Kito has made such a public accusation against Mr Akbar if in essence the same charge incriminates him at the time of the Golkar leader's graft trial.