La Nyalla Fails Attending Summonses: I Talked to Media, He Says
18 January 2018 17:52 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - La Nyalla Mattalitti failed to fulfill the second summons from East Java Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu), on Wednesday, 17 January. He reasoned that he did not accept the invitation.
Bawaslu has summoned La Nyalla for the second time to ask him for a clarification regarding his statement saying that he was asked by Gerindra Party Chairman Prabowo Subianto to provide Rp40 billion for his candidacy in the 2018 East Java Gubernatorial election.
The first summons to the Chairman of the East Java Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Indonesia (KADIN) was on Monday, January 15, where he also failed to attend and was represented by the Executive Director of East Java KADIN Heru Pramono.
Read: Tempo News: La Nyalla Claims Prabowo Has Extorted Him for Rp40bn
However, La Nyalla refused to be regarded as having no goodwill. According to him, the explanation through the media is enough. "Goodwill of what? I have talked to the media," he said.
Tempo received a written statement from La Nyalla related to the issue of the political dowry. He denied the statement previously spread on the media saying that he was 'extorted' by Gerindra Party Chairman Prabowo Subianto. According to him, the phrase was made by the media. "Never did I say that Prabowo asked for a dowry," he wrote in a written statement received by Tempo on Wednesday, January 17.
On January 12, La Nyalla stated that Prabowo asked him to provide funds of Rp40 billion in order to participate in the regional head candidacy. "The money is for the witness fund so the recommendation letter from Gerindra Party can be issued," said the businessman who also a Gerindra cadre in a press conference on January 12.
Read: La Nyalla Denies He was Asked for Political Dowry by Prabowo
On the latest press release, La Nyalla said when Prabowo called him, he was asked to prepare and hand over the Rp 40billion witness fund on December 20, 2017. But he disagreed, reasoning that he was only willing to prepare and hand over the witness and the winning funds after he is officially registered as a candidate for governor in the General Election Commission (KPU).
Bawaslu will not be in a rash in dealing with this issue. East Java Bawaslu's Coordinator of Interdepartmental Prevention and Relations Division Aang Kunaifi said they need the direct report from La Nyalla Mattalitti and the sufficient evidence. Bawaslu also needs to cooperate with the National Police and the Attorney General when the alleged violation met the criminal element, Aang added.
YUSUF MANURUNG
