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upporters of the late Muslim scholar Nurcholis Madjid demanded that National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri should apologize and retract his statement alleging the scholar's attachment to the former minister allegedly involved in a bribery case.

Yudi Latif from the Nurcholis Madjid Society said Sunday Bambang's statement lacked accuracy.

Bambang had previously told a hearing with the House of Representatives that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) had sat on a bribery case involving a person known by the initials MK (believed to be former forestry minister Malam Sambat Kaban) due to the latter's "emotional attachment" with Chandra M Hamzah, one of two KPK deputies, currently charged with abuse of power and bribery by the police.

Bambang alleged that MK had received Rp 17.5 billion (US$1.8 million) in bribes from telecommunications equipment provider PT Masaro Radiokom, which is owned by fugitive graft suspect Anggoro Widjojo.

In a widely-broadcast hearing with legislators, Bambang said that Chandra was under a moral obligation to MK for the latter's contribution as a matchmaker for Chandra and his former wife, Nadia Madjid, who is a daughter of Nurcholis.

Chandra and Nadia got married in 1994 and later divorced in 2001.

"We urge the Police chief to apologize because Cak Nur's (Nurcholis) family is shocked by his statement, especially without any proof (to support it)," Yudi said.

Nurcholis' family had denied Bambang's allegation, saying that Kaban did not have any role in Chandra's and Nadia's marriage.

Politician Indra Piliang, who went to the same university as Chandra and Nadia, said they met when they became members of the University of Indonesia's student senate in 1991.

"They became close in late 1991, after a series of late night meetings as students," he said.

At that time, he added, Kaban was a lecturer at the Ibnu Chaldun University in Bogor, West Java. He once chaired the Jakarta chapter of the Islamic Student Association, and Chandra and Nadia were members

"Both Chandra and Nadia only knew Kaban briefly," Indra said.