Anita Rachman & Heru Andriyanto – The Indonesian Council of Ulema, or MUI, is demanding a public apology from Transparency International Indonesia following the publication of survey results that indicated the council was one of the most graft-ridden institutions in the country.

The survey, whose results were published in January, was aimed at determining which government agencies were perceived by the general population to be the most corrupt, TII said.

However, the MUI said that the anticorruption group had oversaturated media outlets with the report, causing the public to interpret the survey results as facts rather than a reflection of public perception. Amidhan, chairman of the MUI, also said that the methodology used in the survey was unclear and biased.

The council should not have been included in the survey at all because it was not a government agency, he said. "We demand that TII take back what it said about the council," Amidhan said. "The MUI wants a public apology."

The police topped the list of the most graft-ridden state institutions in the survey, followed by the Traffic and Public Transportation Office of the Ministry of Transportation, the municipal governments, the National Land Agency and state-run port operator PT Pelindo.

Amidhan said that if TII really wanted to find out any indications of corruption within the council, it should have investigated the Assessment Institute for Foods, Drugs and Cosmetics, or LP POM, which he claimed was the only body within the MUI that handled considerable amounts of money.

LP POM is in charge of determining whether the business practices of companies that specialize in manufacturing food products, medicines and cosmetics, follow standards set by Islamic law. Companies that meet the standards are given halal certificates by the institute.

"LP POM wasn't even mentioned in the report," he said. "Anyway, even if they had looked into LP POM, they wouldn't have found anything."

Muhammad Nadratuzzaman Hosen, director of LP POM, corroborated Amidhan's claim, saying the anticorruption group had failed to look into his institute in their survey. "The claims made by TII were not based on anything substantial," he said.

Amidhan said that regional branches of the MUI had urged senior leaders to issue a response to the results published by TII.

The council would wait for two weeks for a response from TII, he said, adding that the MUI's Commission for Law and Mediation would explore the possibility of undertaking legal action in case the council received no response.

Rizki Sri Wibowo, TII vice general secretary, said that his group was still discussing MUI's claim, and that they expect to come up with a statement on Friday. He refused to comment further on the matter.