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President to grill Paskah, Ka'ban
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has summoned two ministers to clarify their connection with a past corruption case amid public pressure to fire them
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President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has summoned two ministers to clarify their connection with a past corruption case amid public pressure to fire them.
Presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng said Yudhoyono deemed the questioning of State Minister for National Development Planning Paskah Suzetta and Forestry Minister Malam Sambat Ka'ban necessary as the two were bound to a political contract they signed before their installment as Cabinet members.
"Every Cabinet member signed a political contract before taking office and pledged to uphold clean government and good governance," Andi told an unscheduled press conference at Halim Perdanakusumah Airport in East Jakarta.
"Realizing corruption-free governance is the President's main agenda, even though the case happened before the two were appointed ministers, this is strongly related to the political contract."
Yudhoyono arrived in Jakarta on Friday afternoon after a visit to the Bangka Belitung province overnight.
The questioning, scheduled for Monday, will be the President's first concrete action in response to the public controversy over the two ministers' involvement in the alleged misappropriation of Rp 100 billion in Bank Indonesia liquidity support funds in 2003.
In his testimony at the Corruption Court on Monday, Golkar lawmaker Hamka Yandhu said Paskah and Ka'ban received Rp 1 billion and Rp 300 million each from Rp 31.5 billion allocated by BI officials for the House's Commission IX on financial affairs to smooth amendments of the BI Law and resolution of the BI liquidity support corruption case. Hamka said he gave the money personally to Paskah, Ka'ban and 49 other commission members.
Andi said the President would take further actions against the ministers. "Nobody enjoys legal immunity in the SBY era," he said.
He declined to go into details about the President's actions. "Just let the President hear explanations from the two ministers. I don't want to speculate," he said.
Yudhoyono replaced justice minister Hamid Awaluddin and state secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra in May last year following a controversy about their link to graft cases.
Golkar politician Paskah replaced Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who moved to the finance ministerial post, in the first Cabinet reshuffle under Yudhoyono in December 2005. Kaban has been part of the Cabinet since the beginning of Yudhoyono's tenure in October 2004.
"The President will give them a fair opportunity to explain and defend themselves. The President leaves it to legal facts and respects the due process of law, but on the other hand, this is also about political commitment," said Andi.
But Vice President Jusuf Kalla insisted that political contracts signed by Cabinet ministers could not serve as grounds to show Paskah and Ka'ban the door.
"The event Hamka Yandhu described to the court happened before the two (Paskah and Ka'ban) were appointed ministers," Kalla told reporters earlier Friday.
"We respect presumption of innocence. The cases should be settled through a legal process. If they are found guilty, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will take action," Kalla said.
