Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Ulma Haryanto & Febriamy Hutapea – By pledging silence in return for protection for his family, Muhammad Nazaruddin could deal a more severe blow to the Democratic Party than the damning corruption allegations he has already made, according to politicians and political analysts.
Nazaruddin's silence, according to the deputy secretary general of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Mahfudz Siddiq, will make it far more difficult for the ruling party to repair its damaged credibility. "For two months the party was pounded by Nazaruddin's accusations," Mahfudz said.
He was referring to claims the former Democrat treasurer made that top party members were embroiled in graft and corruption. The impact of the claims has already begun to show in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's falling popularity. "With Nazaruddin's silence, they won't recover from the situation," Mahfudz said.
Nazaruddin's insinuation that there's a threat to his family will make the Democrats look even worse, said Arbi Sanit, a political analyst from the University of Indonesia. This, he added, will be a big problem in the 2014 elections.
"If they want to convince the public that Nazaruddin's abrupt change has nothing to do with them, the Democratic Party should support the investigation and prove that they will do anything to fight corruption," he said.
Cecep Effendy, a political analyst from the Indonesian Institute, said it was important for Yudhoyono to be firm in urging Nazaruddin to reveal everything, including the party's sources of funding.
"As party treasurer, Nazaruddin was able to do whatever it took to raise money for the party. What's more, his party was the ruling party, which has easy access to any ministry or state agency," he said.
But the implications of Nazaruddin's silence, it seems, will be limited to the political rather than the legal process. Bibit Samad Riyanto, a deputy at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), said he was convinced the KPK would have enough evidence and testimony to charge Nazaruddin.
"He may say that he forgot or he doesn't know. Urip [Tri Gunawan] was like that as well, but we managed to convict him anyway," he said, referring to a former prosecutor now serving a 20-year jail term for receiving a bribe.
The same theory could apply to the allegations Nazaruddin has made against Democrat officials. Mudzakir, a criminologist from the Indonesian Islamic University (UII) in Yogyakarta, said the KPK should not rely on Nazaruddin's statements alone. "They have to get other evidence since his statements to the media cannot be used in court," he said.
Amid speculation that Nazaruddin had been forced into silence, Patrialis Akbar, the justice and human rights minister, called for calm and urged the public to take Nazaruddin's statements with a grain of salt. "Let's not go too far in speculating about his statements," Patrialis said.
The minister also criticized analysts who he said seemed to reflexively take Nazaruddin's side. "Many said Nazaruddin had been brainwashed by the government," he said. "I really regret such statements. Analysts should appreciate the government for finally arresting him."
The KPK, eager to dispel claims by Nazaruddin's lawyer, O.C. Kaligis, that his client was refusing to eat while in detention for fear of being poisoned, showed a video of the suspect on Thursday. "This is Nazaruddin when he first arrived. We can see that he ate what we gave him, heartily" KPK spokesman Johan Budi said.
Footage from a CCTV recording showed Nazaruddin eating from a take-out box accompanied by two KPK investigators.
Kaligis had also said that Nazaruddin's right to legal representation had been violated when Kaligis was not allowed to visit his client in detention. The KPK countered by saying Nazaruddin hadn't officially appointed a lawyer.
Johan played footage showing an investigator asking Nazaruddin whether he wanted to be represented by a lawyer. "At the moment, no. Maybe later, sir," Nazaruddin said.
Bibit said this proved the KPK had not violated Nazaruddin's rights. "And you can see from the video that Nazaruddin is quite relaxed being in the same room with investigators, we are not putting him under pressure," he said.