Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – A senior Democratic Party legislator has called on the antigraft body to take over the case of former tax official Gayus Tambunan from the police, in a move seen by some as political maneuvering.
Benny K. Harman, who chairs House of Representatives Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, said on Tuesday that Gayus's claim to have been bribed by major companies should be investigated by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
"If we want to deal with the case objectively, the only credible institution tis the KPK," he said. "We at the House urge and strongly recommend that it take over the case from the police. Please investigate the business entities named by Gayus in his trial."
The former taxman claims to have received millions of dollars in bribes from companies in exchange for helping ease the tax appeals process for them. The companies in question include Kaltim Prima Coal, Arutmin and Bumi Resources, all part-owned by the family of Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie.
Benny said Gayus was a minor player in the case, and that it was the companies that made huge profits and paid little in the way of taxes that authorities should be going after.
"We'll summons Gayus to a hearing and question him about his dealings with the companies," he said. "That hearing will be open to the media so the public can stay informed."
Asked if Commission III deputy chairman Azis Syamsuddin, from Golkar, had agreed to the hearing, Benny said: "Azis would only defend Aburizal."
He was quick to add that Gayus's alleged dealings with the Bakrie firms should not reflect on Golkar. "I'm sure that Golkar supports a resolution to this case," he said.
But Bambang Soesatyo, a Golkar legislator with Commission III, said lawmakers had never discussed summoning Gayus for a hearing. "Benny's just kidding, we never discussed this case," he said.
He also pointed out that the Democrats' patron, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, had said the police should be given more time to resolve the Gayus case.
Bambang said it was more important to trace the money after it was received by Gayus, rather than who gave it to him in the first place.
"It'd be reasonable to suspect that some of the money made its way to the presidential palace," he said. "Gayus would have shared the money with his superiors, and it's unlikely they wouldn't give some sort of cut to the palace."
Ray Rangkuti, a political analyst and director of the Indonesian Civic Network (LIMA), said the Gayus case was being politicized by both the Democrats and Golkar – the country's two biggest parties – for their own interests.
He said the real problem was in the police's seeming reluctance to trace where the bribes came from or where they went. This, Ray said, had led to a vacuum that was now being filled by politicians.
He said that for the Democrats, it was an opportunity for payback against Golkar, which hounded the Yudhoyono administration over the Bank Century bailout scandal.
"Gayus's case provides them a golden opportunity because Aburizal is implicated," he said. "That's why Golkar wants to avoid the issue. It's a matter of bargaining. The Democrats' ultimate aim is to use this to bury the Century case for good."