PKS sought Rp 10 billion to back gubernatorial candidate Hans Nicholas Jong, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | National | Fri, September 20 2013, 7:51 AM Makassar Mayor Ilham Arief Sirajuddin revealed on Thursday that the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) asked him for a hefty sum of money before throwing its support behind his candidacy in the 2012 South Sulawesi gubernatorial election. Ilham, who lost the election despite being supported by several political parties, including the PKS, testified during a trial session of graft suspect Ahmad Fathanah — a close aide of former Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) chairman Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq — that he had to pay Rp 8 billion (US$712,000) to the country’s biggest Islamic party through Fathanah. “The money was to help me win, [the PKS] asked for Rp 10 billion but settled at Rp 8 billion,” he told the panel of judges at the Jakarta Corruption Court in Kuningan, South Jakarta. Fathanah mediated the whole deal, including communicating with PKS leaders including Luthfi and then PKS secretary general, Anis Matta, according to Ilham. “The money [was given] directly to the defendant, Ahmad Fathanah, via bank transfer and cash,” he said. Ilham added that he gave the money in installments, with Rp 7 billion given to Fathanah while the remaining Rp 1 billion was given directly to the PKS’ provincial branches executive board (DPW). “After I paid Rp 7 billion, [the PKS] took the decision [to nominate me],” he said. The official letter stating that the PKS would support Ilham was signed by Luthfi and Anis, added Ilham. According to his questioning dossier, Ilham told the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prosecutors that it was Anis who assured him of Fathanah’s ability to handle the whole deal. It was also Anis who proposed the figure of Rp 10 billion. After the initial meeting between him, Anis and Fathanah in the Kempinski Hotel in Central Jakarta in 2012, Ilham said that he mainly communicated with Fathanah. “After they said that everything would be taken care of by Fathanah, I was never in touch [with them],” he said. Ilham also revealed that he had known Fathanah for a long time because they were childhood friends, while he knew Anis because their wives were related to each other. Ilham justified his action by saying that it was necessary because the support of his own party, the Democratic Party, alone would be insufficient to secure the gubernatorial post. “We needed the PKS’ infrastructure,” he said, adding that he also paid the People’s Conscience Party (Hanura) Rp 2.5 billion for it to nominate him during the election. Najamuddin Marhamid, the head of the PKS coordinating team in Sulawesi, meanwhile, said that it was normal for the party to require any gubernatorial candidates seeking its support to fund their own campaigns. “Funding has to come from the candidates. I don’t want PKS members paying,” Najamuddin, who was also a member of the party’s campaign team during Ilham’s race, said during his testimony at the same trial session. University of Indonesia (UI) law expert Ganjar Laksmana said that the PKS could be charged with graft for accepting money from a public official in exchange for its support. “Ideally a political party supports a gubernatorial candidate because of similarities in political perception. But if he [Ilham] paid a sum of money, then it means that he purchased support [from the PKS],” he told The Jakarta Post. However, it would be difficult for law enforcers to use the Elections Law as it is not clear on the matter, according to Ganjar. Therefore, law enforcers would have to be more creative by using the laws on corruption or bribery to prosecute the PKS, he added. “According to the law on corruption, a political party is a form of a corporation, and some of its members could be perceived as public servants as they are lawmakers in the House of Representatives,” Ganjar said. “Give and take [of money between two public officials] is a violation of the law.” He also said that it would be difficult for the PKS to avoid being associated with Fathanah after it was revealed that Fathanah allegedly collected money for the party. “If Fathanah had no connection to the PKS why would Ilham want to give him money?” asked Ganjar.
Posted on: Sun, 22 Sep 2013 16:33:05 +0000