Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Rizky Amelia, Ezra Sihite & Bayu Marhaenjati – Neneng Sri Wahyuni's arrest is part of a wider plan to allow Anas Urbaningrum, the chairman of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, to be kicked out of the party while protecting the president's son, anti-graft activists alleged during the weekend.

Yudhoyono has acknowledged that members of his party have been implicated graft cases, dealing a blow to the party's image. He has hinted that he wanted to fix the issue by clearing out those implicated in graft cases, even Anas.

"Those involved in corruption should leave the party," Yudhoyono told the party's regional leaders and founding members in a gathering in Jakarta last week.

However, sacking Anas requires the support of all party members at an extraordinary congress, and Yudhoyono can only call for such a congress if he has a strong enough reason to do so, such as decision by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to name Anas a suspect.

While Anas has been accused by Neneng's husband and graft convict Muhammad Nazaruddin, the former treasurer of the Democratic Party, in a series of separate graft cases, including the development of the Hambalang sports center in Bogor and the Southeast Asian Games athletes' village in Palembang, the KPK has not named him a suspect. Anas has repeatedly denied Nazaruddin's accusations.

Bringing Neneng in could give the KPK enough fresh evidence against Anas to name him a suspect, observers said.

According to Uchok Sky Khadafi from the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra), Neneng has information on who received graft money from the Permai Group, a company founded by Anas and Nazaruddin to collect money they received from acting as brokers in dozens of government procurement projects. Neneng was the Permai Group's financial director.

"She kept track of all the company's money and knows where it goes. I think her return to Indonesia is part of a larger plan as she would not have come back if she had not made a deal with those in power," Uchok said.

Observers have questioned the facts surrounding Neneng's arrest as she was apprehended at her house in Pejaten, South Jakarta, after returning to Indonesia from Malaysia. She had been on the run from Indonesian authorities for almost a year. The KPK insists they arrested Neneng, and that she did not surrender.

Tom Pasaribu, the executive director of the Indonesian Parliamentary Monitoring Committee (KPPPI), agreed that there were strong indications that Neneng was being controlled by powerful people at the State Palace as a weapon against Anas and several others Democratic Party members who have been embroiled in corruption allegations. "Neneng is being used in a way that she only reveals selected information," Tom said. "The question is, does she still have the information?"

Apart from using both Nazaruddin and his wife Neneng against Anas, Yudhoyono could also use them to defend his son Edhie "Ibas" Baskoro from potential counter claims by the party chairman, both activists said. Nazaruddin and Neneng could possibly contradict Anas' potential accusations against Ibas, rendering them without merit, they said.

While on the run, Nazaruddin repeatedly made allegations about Ibas in interviews with several Indonesian TV broadcasters. He said Ibas was involved in graft cases together with himself and Anas.

However, Ibas' name did not appear in Nazaruddin's statements after he was arrested by the KPK. "It all depends on the deal. If both Nazaruddin and Neneng feel that they can get enough protection, they will say whatever they are told to," Uchok said.

Agustinus Pohan, a legal expert from Parahyangan University in Bandung, said that Neneng would not contradict Nazaruddin's testimony to the antigraft authorities "Nazaruddin will ensure Neneng that toes the line," he said.

Neneng's lawyer Elza Syarief said it was Nazaruddin who told Neneng to return to Indonesia and surrender herself. "He said his wife would return this week and asked us to take her to the KPK once she arrived," Elza said.