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ouse of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto'€™s future is looking increasingly uncertain, as he faces mounting pressure to step down, in light of an alleged ethics breach involving the local unit of US mining giant Freeport McMoRan.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said reported Setya to the House'€™s ethics council (MKD) on Monday for allegedly claiming to have won approval from President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla to secure shares and projects from Freeport in exchange for helping the company extend its contract and continue operating the world'€™s largest gold mine in Papua.

On Thursday, chairman of House Commission III overseeing legal affairs and security, Benny K. Harman, demanded Setya step down from his position as House speaker if the MKD probe found that his behavior constituted a breach of ethics.

'€œIf the recording that is now circulating holds any weight, we urge Pak Setya to be graceful enough to relinquish his position as speaker and lawmaker in order to uphold the good reputation of this institution,'€ Benny said, referring to a leaked recording in which Setya supposedly makes the statement.

Benny also urged the embattled Golkar politician to quickly issue a public statement clarifying his role as a broker in the deal with Freeport.

If found guilty by the MKD, Benny said that Setya could be charged under the corruption law.

Before becoming the center of the recent Freeport scandal, Setya has weathered numerous scandals that have rocked his political career.

Since 1999, Setya has avoided being named a suspect in at least four graft cases in which witnesses claimed his involvement. He has also survived several attempts to implicate him in a number of corruption and money laundering cases.

This time Setya is unlikely to be able to muster enough support from his party colleagues to escape an ethics council hearing.

The current scandal placed Setya'€™s entire political career on the line, but if he '€œsurvived this turbulence,'€ he would emerge stronger, Hanta Yuda of the Poltracking Institute said on Thursday.

He said that if he weathered the Freeport scandal, not only would he retain his position as House leader, he would also be seriously considered to replace Aburizal Bakrie as the next chairman of Golkar.

'€œThe turbulence surrounding this issue is bound to affect Setya'€™s political might. It is a huge burden for him, as his rivals will use this as ammunition to attack him, while in the meantime, there is public pressure for him to be fired,'€ Hanta told The Jakarta Post. '€œBut if he manages to escape unscathed, his political power will improve.'€

Law No. 17/2014 on the People'€™s Consultative Assembly, House of Representatives and Provincial Legislative Council stipulates that the House speaker can be dismissed if seven conditions are met, including violating the oath of office or being found guilty of violation by the House ethics council.

A meeting between National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti and members of the ethics council to discuss action to be taken against Setya was also held on Thursday.

MKD deputy chairman Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said that council members discussed what they should do with the transcript and recordings as evidence against Setya.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Panjaitan has also dismissed speculation that he had ambitions to secure any deals or acquire Freeport shares.

'€œI have no business interest in Freeport anymore. I have decided to focus on my job as a government official and serve the nation,'€ he said.