Candidates to visit KPK to clarify wealth

JAKARTA. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has invited both pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates to clarify the wealth reports that they have submitted to the antigraft body.

KPK spokesman Johan Budi said on Tuesday that the KPK had scheduled a session for Prabowo Subianto and Hatta Rajasa on Wednesday, followed by Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Jusuf Kalla the next day.

Prabowo, who is also Gerindra Party chief patron, and National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Hatta submitted their wealth reports to the KPK on May 20, while non-active Jakarta governor Jokowi and former vice president Kalla submitted theirs on May 21 and May 22, respectively.

“During the sessions, the two pairs of candidates will provide clarification on their wealth,” Johan said.

KPK deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto expected the two pairs of candidates to be transparent with the antigraft body regarding their wealth. “We hope that the two tickets can clarify and confirm their wealth,” he said.

Bambang refused to reveal the total amount of wealth that the two pairs of candidates currently have, adding that the wealth reports would be available to the public on the KPK’s website after the clarification session. “Let’s [wait and] see, until the clarification process is done,” he said.

Prabowo previously submitted a wealth report to the KPK in 2009 when he was running as a vice presidential candidate in that year’s elections with Megawati Soekarnoputri, chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which is currently endorsing Jokowi. According to KPK data in 2009, Prabowo, a former commander of the Army’s Special Forces (Kopassus), had a total of Rp 1.5 trillion (US$125 million) and US$7.5 million.

His teammate Hatta — whose time in Cabinet includes the former positions of coordinating economic minister, state secretary, transportation minister and research and technology minister — last reported his wealth to the antigraft body in 2012. His total wealth that year was Rp 16 billion and $5,936. Some Rp 13 billion of his wealth was in property — land and buildings — while Rp 1.1 billion was in jewelry.

Jokowi, formerly a furniture businessman in his hometown of Surakarta, Central Java, last reported his wealth to the KPK in March 2012. According to the antigraft body’s records, he had a total wealth of Rp 27 billion and $9,876. Jokowi is also in possession of plots of land and buildings, located mostly in Central Java, worth Rp 23 billion.

Meanwhile, his running mate Kalla has a total wealth of Rp 314.5 billion and $25,718, according to KPK data. Some Rp 220 billion of the total wealth is in the form of obligation. In the period of 2004-2009, the former vice president also had a number of plots of land and buildings worth Rp 91.9 billion in total, mostly located in his hometown of Makassar, South Sulawesi.

According to the KPK, neither Jokowi nor Kalla has any debt. (Haeril Halim)