JAKARTA. House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto has denied allegations that he asked for shares in gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia on behalf of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla, speaking during a closed hearing at the House ethics council, which started on 1:50 p.m.
In the written testimony that he read out during the hearing, Setya defended himself and said that Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said had besmirched him in his report to the House ethics council. The Golkar Party politician also rejected statements made by PT Freeport Indonesia president director Maroef Sjamsoeddin during his hearing on Thursday. Below are some excerpts:
“Sudirman Said, as the reporter of the case, has defiled my good name by saying that I have misused the names of the President and the Vice President and asked for shares in PT Freeport Indonesia [and he has done so] without any evidence.”
“[Sudirman’s] testimony is really not true and is testimonium de audito [unverifiable conjecture] in nature because it carries no authenticity.”
“I assert again that I have never used [my] public authority to pursue personal benefits by asking for shares, either in the PLTA [hydro power plant Urumuka] or in PT Freeport Indonesia on behalf President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla.”
“Testimonies provided by Maroef Sjamsoeddin in front of the House ethics council’s hearing are fake testimonies, or not in line with the true facts.”
“On Dec. 3, 2015, Maroef Sjamsoeddin [PT Freeport Indonesia chief] gave testimony in front of the House ethics council. In his testimony, Maroef Sjamsoeddin made allegations against me that are baseless.”
“Concerning the fact that Sudirman Said has been examined as a reporter/witness, and similary, Maroef Sjamsoeddin, who illegally recorded the conversation, has been examined as a witness, and I have been examined as the accused, I plea to you, your honor, that you make a decision as fair as possible as quickly as possible today, because the sooner the better, so that I, who is not guilty, who did not commit any ethics violation, can immediately get justice.”
“I have been attacked viciously through print and electronic media, which have, in a tendentious and unilateral way, treated me as if I were a criminal although that is not the fact as has been proven in hearings over the last several days. I feel that I have been victimized and my good name has been damaged systematically and this directly has damaged my honor and dignity both as a person and as a House of Representatives member.”
“I plea to you, your honor, to rule [...] that the report submitted by Sudirman Said as the energy and mineral resources minister does not have legal standing and that thus, the report […] must be rejected or at least announced unacceptable.”
