TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Former Democratic Party politician Anas Urbaningrum once again eluded the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). He risks being seized by force by KPK investigators today. In an interview with Tempo, KPK Deputy Chief Bambang Widjojanto said Anas is not unique. KPK will still summon him.
Anas once again eluded investigations. Your comments?
This is not the first time. Last July, he did the same. During investigations, he made a statement as if to form a public opinion that the law wasn’t working. This is no coincidence. This is not the behavior of a leader. A leader has to dare to bear risks.
Anas was offended by the phrase “other projects”?
It has already been said in when we issued the letter of investigation order (sprindik). How unprofessional they were in reading the sprindik. In the sprindik, we tried to check with various other cases. It’s impossible to list all of them. If KPK had no evidence, we wouldn’t have asked.
When seized, will Anas automatically be arrested?
‘Seizure by force’ means someone’s presence is requested for a legal matter. Usually it is followed by an arrest, but not always. We see whether investigators require the individual to be arrested or not. All this is regulated by Article 112 clause 2 of the Indonesian Penal Code (KUHAP). Arrests are [regulated by] Article 21; it’s different.
Anas’s lawyer want his client to be seized by force, so that his arrest qualifies for a pretrial?
That’s incorrect. He should read KUHAP articles. Pretrial concerns the validity of an arrest, not that of a seizure.
Maybe so that Anas seems abused?
Anas’s defiance is only to dramatize. Anybody does it, including corruptors and other suspects. They want to create a snowball effect of public cynicism. KPK is already experienced. They’re wrong if they use this trick on KPK. We’re not new law enforcement; we were not born yesterday.
Which articles in the penal code apply to Anas?
The articles used cannot possibly evolve. The investigation order is based on facts. New articles require new letters of investigation order. Like Akil Mochtar’s graft case, there’s a suspicion of money laundering, so a new sprindik was called for.
In other words, there’s a possibility of money laundering for Anas?
In general, KPK builds on a pattern; if someone is suspected of corruption, they are also suspected of money laundering. We see the facts. Investigators may not just apply articles on money laundering.
BUNGA MANGGIASIH | MUHAMAD RIZKI
