TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Former Social Affairs Minister Idrus Marham said he was ready to be arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) today, should that be the case. Idrus is being questioned by the KPK today as a suspect for alleged bribery in the PLTU Riau-1 steam power plant project.
"I will follow all of KPK's procedures," he said at the KPK building today, August 31.
The Golkar secretary-general arrived at noon with his lawyer. He didn’t say much else about the case he was incriminated with.
He was also tight-lipped when asked about the US$1.5 million said to have been promised to him.
KPK spokesman Febri Diansyah said that today Idrus was to be cross-examined as a suspect. He will be questioned about the meetings and discussions regarding the Riau-1 Power Plant project; its schemes and partnership mechanisms.
Read: Eni Saragih Always Reports to Idrus Marham: PLTU Riau-I Bribery
Febri did not say whether Idrus would be detained as he had been named a suspect, saying it would depend on what the KPK leaders decided—based on investigators' findings and applicable laws and regulations.
Other people whom the KPK named as suspects for the same case include former deputy chairman of the DPR Energy Commission, Eni Saragih. She is suspected of having received bribes from businessman Johannes B. Kotjo, a shareholder of Blackgold Natural Resources Limited—one of the signatories of a consortium that won the PLTU Riau-1 Power Plant project.
Meanwhile, Idrus Marham is suspected of having abused his power to fix the project's procurement process.
TAUFIQ SIDDIQ