Jakarta – The plot has thickened in the spat between State Secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), with the former accusing the latter of being a corrupt institution that requires a thorough audit.
Yusril said Thursday that the Attorney General's Office's antigraft team and the State Development Finance Comptroller ought to launch an investigation of the KPK over allegations of corruption.
"All institutions in the vicinity of the State Palace, including the State Secretariat, have been targeted in an antigraft probe and only the KPK has so far eluded the probe," Yusril told reporters on the sideline of bilateral talks between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badhawi.
Tension brewed between the state secretary and the KPK after the former filed a graft complaint against the commission's chief, Taufiequrrachman Ruki, last Friday.
Yusril accused Ruki of failing to hold a public bidding for a government-funded project, which ended in the procurement of wiretapping devices worth of Rp 34 billion (US$3.7 billion).
He accused Ruki of violating a 2003 government regulation that required the participation of as many bidders as possible in the procurement of goods for government-funded projects worth more than Rp 50 million.
Yusril launched an attack on the KPK a day after he was questioned by the antigraft commission for violating the same government regulation.
In 2004, when he was Justice and Human Rights Minister, Yusril oversaw the procurement of the Rp 18.4 billion fingerprint scanning machine at the ministry.
The KPK said the procurement of the wiretapping devices had won approval from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, which was stated in a letter signed by Yusril himself.
On Thursday, Yusril used plain language in accusing the KPK chief of padding the price of the wiretapping devices. Quoting telematics expert Roy Suryo, Yusril said the price paid for the devices was too high. "Just like what (Roy) has said, the price tag is between Rp 8 billion and Rp 12 billion (for the wiretapping devices)," Yusril said.
Yusril maintained that he was not guilty of the allegations made against him, which pertained to the procurement of the fingerprint scanning device. He laid the blame on his successor, current Justice and Human Rights Minister Hamid Awaluddin.
"Two days after I signed the document awarding the contract I was relieved from my position. So the implementation of the project fell into the hands of the new minister," Yusril said.
Meanwhile, Ruki has finally broken his silence on the matter and denied he was engaged in a personal conflict with Yusril.
"There's no such thing as spat between the KPK and the state secretary, Yusril and Ruki. It's conceived by the press," Ruki, who just returned from Manado, North Sulawesi, told reporters at his office.