Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – A coalition of antigraft watchdogs demanded Tuesday that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) name Justice and Human Rights Minister Hamid Awaluddin as a suspect for his alleged involvement in a graft case at the nation's electoral commission in 2004.
"There are no reasons for KPK to delay the probe into the graft case in which Hamid has been implicated, since politically and legally nothing is stopping the anti-graft body from questioning him," said Emerson Yuntho of Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW).
He was reading a joint statement from 65 anticorruption organizations across the archipelago, including the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, the Indonesian Human Rights Watch, the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (FITRA) and the Anticorruption Institute.
Hamid was reported to the police for alleged perjury by Daan Dimara, a former colleague at the General Elections Commission (KPK), who was sentenced to four years in prison last Friday.
Hamid testified in Daan's trial on July 25 that he did not attend a meeting on June 14, 2004, to discuss inflating the price of ballot seals for the 2004 presidential election.
In Daan's verdict, the Anticorruption Court stated that Hamid attended and even chaired the June 14 meeting. The court did not find Daan guilty of colluding with the printing company to mark up the price of the seals for the presidential election, as prosecutors had charged. The collusion allegedly cost the state Rp 3.5 billion (about US$384,000).
The group demanded that the perjury allegation against Hamid be pursued immediately by the National Police, who have taken over the case from the Jakarta Police. "There's strong evidence that letters from the company were referred to Hamid," Arif Nur Alam of FITRA said.
Emerson said the KPK had no choice but to process the graft allegations against Hamid to avert accusations that it is afraid of investigating alleged corruption among those who have good political backing.
"We know that this is a legal matter, but its political bias is quite strong," Emerson said. He told law enforcers not to be afraid of Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who is a close confidante of Hamid. "Kalla has clearly stated that he doesn't intend to protect Hamid," he said.
The Vice President, according to the group, said on April 16 that he would allow the antigraft commission to probe anyone involved in the KPU graft case, including Hamid. Kalla allegedly added that Hamid could be suspended from his position if he were named a suspect or proven guilty.
Danang Widiyono, also of ICW, pointed out that next year the government would elect a new KPK director, and Hamid would head the election committee. "This is the right time to warn the KPK about it. Poor handling of the case will only smear the commission's image," Emerson said.