D

espite allegations that at least three of its lawmakers in the House of Representatives could be involved in an extortion scheme related to the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKKMigas), the Democratic Party (PD) said that it would not punish them.

The party'€™s ethics council said that it had no plans to summon on question the three politicians; senior lawmaker and one of the party'€™s founders Sutan Bhatoegana, lawmaker Tri Yulianto and deputy chairman Jhonny Allen Marbun,

'€œTheir names were mentioned during a hearing, so let'€™s just let the appropriate authorities investigate them,'€ Suaidi Marasabessy, a member of PD'€™s ethics council told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Suaidi said the allegations leveled against Sutan, Tri and Jhonny were a legal matter as rather than an ethics issue, and was therefore outside the council'€™s purview. '€œUnless the law enforcement agencies named them suspects, then the council would have to follow up on it by considering certain punishments for them for breaching the code of ethics,'€ he said.

During a hearing session for the graft case of former SKKMigas chief Rudi Rubiandini, Former SKKMigas deputy for business affairs Gerhard Marteen Rumeser testified that representatives of the House budget committee often communicated with Rudi and that he was once asked to prepare a '€œpackage'€ for them.

Gerhard also testified that Rudi once told him that the agency '€œowed'€ the House US$1 million and that Rudi had sought his help in obtaining $500,000 to pay the '€œdebt'€.

The three lawmakers were Sutan, Tri and Jhonny.

In the Tuesday hearing, it was revealed that Sutan, who also chaired the House of Representatives Commission VII overseeing energy, natural mineral resources, research and technology and the environment had allegedly asked for Rp. 2 billion ($164,000) in kickbacks to '€œhelp forge close ties'€ between SKKMigas and the commission.

Tri, meanwhile, allegedly helped secure $200,000 from the taskforce as '€œholiday bonuses'€ for all lawmakers in the commission. In the trial, Gerhard also testified that Sutan '€” given his position as head of the House Commission VII '€” had instructed Rudi to favor his company, PT Timas Suplindo, in the tender for an offshore construction project held by SKKMigas.

In the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) case dossier on Rudi, a copy of which was obtained by The Jakarta Post, Karen Agustiawan, president director of state energy company Pertamina said several officials, including Rudi and Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik, asked her for money to pay off lawmakers so they would approve the disbursement of the ministry'€™s state budget allocation.

In the past, PD'€™s ethics council summoned and grilled party members suspected of having committed corrupt acts even when they had not been named suspects.

Diana Maringka, a PD member from North Sulawesi, for example, was grilled by the council in February 2012, after media reports suggested that she had helped distribute money during the party'€™s chairmanship election in 2010 to buy votes.

Earlier last year, Sutan called for the disbandment of the House ethics council for naming him as one of the laziest lawmakers.

Sutan also denied that he often allowed other PD lawmakers to sign the list of attendance on his behalf.

Sutan was recorded as skipping 75 percent of House sessions.