Jakarta – The Golkar Party looks to be distancing itself from its beleaguered stalwart Setya Novanto, with one politician predicting that it would be hard for the House of Representatives to dismiss accusations the speaker had attempted to shake down one of the world's biggest mining companies.

Priyo Budi Santoso, one of Golkar's most prominent members, told Tempo on Sunday that he had reviewed the evidence against Setya and found it "scary" and "undeniable."

Setya stands accused of trying to extort from mining giant Freeport Indonesia up to $4 billion in shares.

In his complaint filed earlier this month, Energy Minister Sudirman Said alleges that Setya claimed to be acting on behalf of President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla when demanding a 20 percent stake in the copper and gold miner.

The council is scheduled to convene on Monday to determine the date of a tribunal hearing against Setya and who will be invited to testify.

Priyo's remarks came after Golkar abruptly replaced three of its members inside the ethics council in what pundits speculate as an attempt to get the final ruling to sway in Setya's favor. However, Priyo said his party would fully support the ethics council's decision, including a ruling to remove Setya from office.

"If [the accusations] are true, we will embrace any decision made [by the council], because whatever happens, Golkar will choose to clean itself up and stay away from [extortion] practices," he said. "Besides, Golkar has many figures [who can replace Setya]."

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/golkar-seen-distancing-setya/