Golkar, PDI-P named in extortion scheme

JAKARTA. State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Minister Dahlan Iskan gave the names of two lawmakers who allegedly demanded kickbacks from his officials to the House of Representatives’ ethics council on Monday.

Dahlan said that the kickbacks potentially involved huge state losses and that he had told his officials to report the lawmakers to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

“It’s up to the House ethics council to decide what it should do with these lawmakers. I’ll do my best to clean up my institution from future corrupt practices,” he said after a two-hour closed meeting with the council on Monday.

Dahlan alleged that the lawmakers demanded kickbacks to approve capital injections for some state-owned enterprises. More lawmakers are expected to be put into the hot seat later this week.

“I will submit a written report later on Wednesday, which will also reveal more lawmakers names,” he said, declining to discuss his report in specifics.

Lawmaker and ethics council member Usman Jafar confirmed that the initials of the lawmakers named by Dahlan were IL, a lawmaker from the Golkar Party, and SM from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

IL allegedly demanded kickbacks from state salt producer PT Garam and state-owned shipyard company PT PAL, while SM allegedly shook down executives from PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines.

Usman said exactly how Dahlan alleged that IL and SM extorted money from the state-owned enterprises. “The pair allegedly demanded that executives of the companies kick back 5 percent of the capital injection if approved.”

The ethics council would talk to ministry officials and the executives in question before proceeding.

“First we will summon the executives for clarification before we question the two lawmakers,” Usman, a lawmaker from the United Development Party (PPP), said.

Chairman of the House ethics council, M. Prakosa, said the council would suggest the harshest punishment possible for the lawmakers if they were proven guilty.

“They could be expelled from their positions. There could be heavier punishment, because we plan to file a report with the law enforcement agencies,” he said.

Prakosa of the PDI-P declined to comment on the potential involvement of a fellow party member in the scandal, saying that the allegations would be investigated without consideration to party affiliation. “The council will justly deal with the matter, and we will not be partial.”

Ethics council deputy chairman Siswono Yudo Husodo of the Golkar Party similarly declined to comment on the alleged involvement of a peer.

“We can’t take it as a fact yet, as we need to investigate it further. We don’t want to punish those who are yet to be proven guilty,” he said.

Also on Monday, the ethics council summoned the president director of the state-run diversified group PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia (RNI), Ismed Hasan Putro, who previously claimed to be the victim of an extortion scheme run by legislators.

“A lawmaker once asked me to hand out 2,000 tons of sugar to be distributed for voters, but I refused to do it, even after the lawmaker bargained for lower amount,” he said.

“For me, this is only one of techniques used by lawmakers to demand kickbacks from SOE.” (Margareth S. Aritonang/ The Jakarta Post)