Setya Novanto (tempo.co)

Leaders of the Red-and-White Coalition (KMP) met at the home of Gerindra Party patron Prabowo Subianto in Bogor, West Java, on Friday evening to discuss the opposition group'€™s stance on the dispute between Energy and Mining Resources Minister Sudirman Said and House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto on negotiations over the contract extension of Freeport Indonesia.

Sudirman reported Setya to the House ethics council last week for allegedly claiming to have won the approval of President Joko '€œJokowi '€œ 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 its gold mine, one the world'€™s largest, in Papua.

Gerindra Party deputy chairman Fadli Zon said on Saturday that KMP supported Setya because the transcripts and records of Setya and Freeport representatives'€™ talks had been released by a private television station and were heavily edited.

'€œThe records that have already been aired by a private television station were edited. It is part of a sting operation,'€ said Fadli in Jakarta on Saturday, adding that the records were just excerpts of discussion between Setya and Freeport representatives, which took place three times.

'€œLast night, KMP stated that we supported Setya,'€ Fadli said in Jakarta as reported by tribunnews.com.

Setya denied that he had misused the names of both Jokowi and Kalla, saying that the meetings were part of his efforts to find a solution for the contract extension.

The KMP meeting was attended by Prabowo, Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie, Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) chairman Soehibul Iman, a National Mandate Party (PAN) senior politician, Golkar secretary-general Idrus Marhan and Fadli.

Meanwhile, deputy House ethics council chairman Junimart Girsang of the PDI-P said the council would soon decide a course of action to take in response to Setya'€™s alleged breach of ethics. The council, he explained, might summon a number of people implicated in the recording, as well as Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said, who filed the report to the council. (bbn)

Popular

Govt urged not to compromise too much for US trade deal

Indonesian crew member dies in cruise ship fire off Singapore

Trump 'Board of Peace' opens with money and troops for Gaza