Kalla Demands Apologies from Suryadharma
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Rabu, 1 April 2015 17:24 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Vice President Jusuf Kalla has demanded apologies from Suryadharma Ali—a former religious minister-cum-suspect in a case of hajj funds corruption—for saying the former was included in the graft-stricken 2013 hajj quota.
“I will not sue him, just apologize to me. Ask him to apologize, perhaps his lawyer does not know what hajj pilgrimage is,” Kalla said at the vice presidential office in Jakarta on Wednesday, April 1, 2015.
Kalla said the allegations made by Suryadharma’s lawyer, Johnson Panjaitan, at Suryadharma’s pretrial hearing were untrue, as he was not involved in the religious trip. Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chair Megawati Soekarnoputri and her late husband Taufiq Kiemas were also mentioned during the trial.
“That is slander, because I did not use the hajj quota. I was invited by the Saudi Arabian government, the hotel, the locations, everything was arranged by the Saudi government. I ate mutton everyday,” he said.
Kalla said he traveled to the Holy Land at the same time Suryadharma and his group left for the hajj pilgrimage, but denied he met Suryadharma during the trip.
ANTARA
