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vernight, Golkar Party lawmaker and newly inaugurated House of Representatives speaker Setya Novanto may have found himself becoming the most controversial figure in the history of Indonesia'€™s legislative body.

Even before his name was officially proposed by his party to lead the House, Setya had received widespread criticism on the prospect of his leading the House because of his alleged role in various graft cases during the past several years.

He was sworn in early on Thursday as House speaker along with four deputies '€” Fadli Zon of the Gerindra Party, Fahri Hamzah of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Taufik Kurniawan of the National Mandate Party (PAN) and Agus Hermanto of the Democratic Party (PD).

The criticism immediately turned into growing anxiety after the coalition of political parties supporting the losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto successfully endorsed Setya and his four deputies to secure the House leadership during a chaotic plenary meeting held between Wednesday evening and early Thursday.

Born in Bandung, West Java, 59 years ago, Setya made his name as a successful businessman long before he started his career as lawmaker in 1999. Having served as a Golkar legislator for four consecutive terms, the Golkar treasurer was appointed head of the party'€™s House faction during the last legislative session.

In 1999, Setya was implicated in the Bank Bali scandal, which centered on the transfer of Rp 546 billion (US$44.8 million) from that bank to PT Era Giat Prima (EGP), a company he controlled, but a court quickly acquitted him of graft charges.

The payment was described as a '€œcommission'€ for EGP'€™s assistance in helping the bank recoup Rp 946 billion in interbank claims from closed banks that had been under the supervision of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency.

More recently, Setya has been implicated in a number of graft cases handled by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), but his status in those cases remained as a witness, although court testimonies have confirmed his roles in those cases.

Setya, for example, was dragged into the case of former Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar, who was sentenced to life in prison for receiving bribes from a number of regional heads, after court evidence showed that Setya might have acted as financial backer of East Java Governor Soekarwo to bribe Akil in connection with the East Java gubernatorial election dispute being handled by the court in 2013.

Setya and fellow Golkar lawmaker Kahar Muzakir have also been accused of receiving Rp 9 billion from former Riau governor Rusli Zainal to help expedite the disbursement of funds from the state budget for the Riau 2012 National Games (PON).

On Thursday, KPK chairman Abraham Samad said the antigraft body regretted Setya'€™s appointment as House speaker, saying that he had '€œa potential issue with the law'€ that could hurt the image of the House.

He also gave assurances that the KPK did not see Setya'€™s new role as hindering the commission from pursuing action against him, should the occasion arise.

'€œThe KPK is concerned and deplores the election of Setya Novanto as the House speaker because he has the potential to be involved in a legal case [in the future],'€ he said.

'€œSetya'€™s status as House speaker will not deter the KPK from continuing its investigation. There is no impunity for the House speaker position. Everyone is equal before the law.'€

Setya'€™s status as of today is still as a witness, although he has been questioned several times by the antigraft body in a number of graft cases, including that of the Riau National Games (PON) case.

KPK spokesman Johan Budi said that the antigraft body'€™s investigation into a number of graft cases implicating Setya had yet to be completed, as it was currently still collecting evidence to build up the cases.

'€œWith regard to Riau'€™s PON graft case, the case is currently at the appellate court. After we hear the result from the appellate court we will make a follow-up move [to go after others] in the case,'€ Johan said.

Rusli, who is also a Golkar politician, was sentenced in March to 14 years in prison for his role in the Pelalawan forestry permit and Riau PON graft cases.

More than 70 lawmakers have been implicated in graft cases since 2007, according to the KPK.

In his inauguration speech, Setya responded to criticism directed at him by offering a promise that he would make the House become more transparent and responsive to public demands.

'€œI want to open up the House for the people who want to share their aspirations according to existing mechanisms,'€ he said.

Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra) investigation coordinator Uchok Sky Khadafi was not convinced.

'€œThe appointment of Setya as House speaker has clearly become a major setback to the antigraft movement,'€ he said.

'€œLooking at the newly passed MD3 (legislative institutions) Law that potentially shields lawmakers from corruption investigations, we must suspect that Setya'€™s presence as a House leader will damage the efforts of law enforcement agencies, especially the KPK, to eradicate corruption.'€

How strategic are the roles of House speaker and deputy speakers?

 1. Chair House meetings and conclude the results of the meetings before seeking final approval from lawmakers.
 2. Prepare the work agenda as leaders of the House.
 3. Coordinate efforts to synergize the implementation of the House'€™s work schedule and other legislative activities.
 4. Take the role as House spokespersons.
 5. Implement and disseminate House decisions with support from other lawmakers.
 6. Represent the House when liaising with other state institutions.
 7. Consult with the president and leaders of other state institutions.
 8. Represent the House in court or appoint legal advisors to do so.
 9. Implement House decisions to impose sanctions or status rehabilitations on lawmakers according to existing  laws.

10. House leaders, along with the House'€™s Household Affairs Committee (BURT), plan the House'€™s budget and propose it to a plenary meeting.

11. Report the House'€™s work progress to a plenary meeting.

Source: Article 86 Law No. 17/2014 on legislative institutions