Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – As the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) stepped up its probe into allegations that the Democratic Party's (PD) 2010 congress in Bandung, West Java, was funded by illicit money, a senior politician revealed that cash was indeed distributed to members at the event.
Democratic Party advisory board member Ahmad Mubarok said that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is currently the party's chairman, had allowed participants to receive Rp 5 million (US$415) each to cover transportation costs.
Mubarok, however, denied the practice was a form of money politics.
"All [candidates for the party chairmanship] were given [the money]. [The practice was] legal, [it was] allowed by Pak SBY," he told reporters after being questioned at the KPK headquarters in Kuningan, South Jakarta.
The KPK questioned Mubarok over the allegation that vote-buying took place during the congress, with candidates for the party chairmanship, including Anas Urbaningrum and Andi Mallarangeng, allegedly paying their fellow members for their votes.
At the time Mubarok was the head of Anas' campaign team.
While acknowledging Anas' team had distributed transportation money to party members, Mubarok said he had no knowledge about its source. "I did not deal with [the] money," said Ahmad.
The allegation that the convention was awash with dirty money first surfaced when Diana Maringka, former head of the party's Southeast Minahasa branch in North Sulawesi, said publicly last year that she was paid Rp 100 million, $7,000 and Rp 30 million in installments by Democratic Party executive and lawmaker Umar Arsal in return for her supporting Anas at the convention.
During the trial of Deddy Kusdinar, former head of financial and internal affairs at the Youth and Sports Ministry, a defendant in the Hambalang sports complex graft case testified that Anas used Rp 2.21 billion from the project to fund his campaign during the convention.
Deddy's indictment stated that the money came from the Hambalang project tender winner, state-owned construction company PT Adhi Karya.
According to the indictment, Andi also spent Rp 2 billion of the money he skimmed off the Hambalang project to finance his bid for the party chairmanship.
The money – reportedly from PT Global Daya Manunggal, one of the companies subcontracted by PT Adhi Karya – was allegedly delivered through Andi's younger brother, Andi "Choel" Zulkarnain Mallarangeng.
Besides vote-buying, the indictment also said that during the congress Mahyuddin MS, the former chairman of House Commission X overseeing sports, of the Democratic Party allegedly received Rp 600 million from Wafid Muharam, then a secretary at the Youth and Sports Ministry.
The money was paid to Mahyuddin for him to approve the Hambalang budget proposal without a proper meeting of the commission and the ministry.
Mahyuddin denied the allegations on Thursday, saying he was not at the congress.
"I did not attend the congress. I was not involved in the congress' campaign teams. But I did attend the opening [of the congress]," he said, after a questioning session on Thursday.
Mahyuddin, however, previously said that he was a member of Anas' campaign team, although not, he claimed, an active member.