Ical to report some media to police

  Aburizal Bakrie

Former coordinating minister for people’s welfare and businessman Aburizal “Ical” Bakrie plans to file a police report over certain media enterprises he alleges to have implicated him with the activities of graft suspect Gayus Halomoan Tambunan.

The Bakrie Group patron will also file complaint with the Press Council over media reports he says  have “cornered” him.

Aburizal said that he had directly complained to the respective media organizations, clarifying that the reports they made are wrong and against the facts.

“But, they [the media organizations] are stubborn. For that reason, we will bring the case to the police tomorrow [Wednesday],” Bakrie was quoted as saying by tempointeraktif.com while attending the Golkar Party’s Central Kalimantan branch anniversary celebration.

Aburizal did not mention the media organizations.

However, he pointed out that there is one TV station that explicitly suggested a meeting between Gayus and him and detailed a location and day in its report.

“That [the report] made fool of the public and it’s definitely against the facts,” said the Golkar chairman, regarding the report as character assassination of his reputation.

Aburizal said he will lodge the complaint with the Press Council, citing that the biased reports also breached the journalistic code of conduct.

“I hope that the Press Council will really be looking into this matter,” he said.

Aburizal's name has been dragged into the public spotlight after media spotted graft suspect Gayus Halomoan Tambunan watching an international tennis match in Nusa Dua, Bali. Gayus slipped out of his cell in the Kelapa Dua detention center in Depok, West Java, for a brief holiday in Bali.  Aburizal happened to be in Bali at the same time Gayus was there. Speculation was rife that Gayus had met him there.

Gayus previously admitted that as a tax official had accepted bribes from three Bakrie companies to falsify their tax obligations. Gayus’ allegations were denied by the companies’ representatives, who insisted that none of the companies had ever asked Gayus to manipulate their taxes.