TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Muji Kartika Rahayu, lawyer of Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Novel Baswedan, said that her client was offered with a position at a state-owned company by KPK leaders last week.
“I don’t know what the offer for was,” Muji told Tempo on Sunday, February 7, 2016.
Muji speculated that the offer could be a part of a deal to settle the case entangling Novel.
“If it’s true, then the nature of Novel Baswedan’s case was political, instead of criminal,” Muji added.
Muji confirmed that Novel was previously offered with a deal, requiring him to resign from the anti-graft commission so that his case would be dropped. Muji said that the recent offer was without any condition.
“There was no negotiation process. [Novel was offered] to move to a state-owned company,” Muji said, adding that Novel had rejected the offer.
Earlier, Novel was named as a suspect in connection with the killing of an alleged bird nest thief back in 2004, when he was serving as the head of the criminal investigation corps at the Bengkulu Police. Novel was arrested although he was not the one shooting the bullet.
In 2012, the case resurfaced when the KPK was investigating a corruption case involving National Police’s traffic corps director Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered police to shut down the case. However, the case was brought up again by the National Police when the KPK named Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan as a suspect in early 2015.
Tempo had contacted KPK leaders to clarify the matter, but no response yet had been received.
BAGUS PRASETIYO
