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Luhut denies role in Freeport conspiracy
Outright denial: Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan speaks in a press conference on Friday to dismiss speculation that he played a role in House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novantoâs alleged attempt to get shares from copper and gold mining firm PT Freeport Indonesia
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Outright denial: Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan speaks in a press conference on Friday to dismiss speculation that he played a role in House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novantoâs alleged attempt to get shares from copper and gold mining firm PT Freeport Indonesia. (JP/DON) (JP/DON)
Outright denial: Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan speaks in a press conference on Friday to dismiss speculation that he played a role in House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto's alleged attempt to get shares from copper and gold mining firm PT Freeport Indonesia. (JP/DON)
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan has vehemently denied any involvement in the House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto's alleged attempt to advance his personal agenda during talks with the gold and copper mining firm PT Freeport Indonesia.
In a press conference held at his office on Friday, Luhut said that he had been reluctant to comment on the controversy but was forced to make a statement because rumors surrounding the case had started to have an impact on his family's reputation.
'I have never had any involvement [in activities] with either Setya Novanto or Reza [Chalid],' Luhut said, referring to the business tycoon who allegedly attended the June meeting Setya had with PT Freeport Indonesia president director Maroef Sjamsuddin.
Much attention has been paid to Setya following a report submitted to the House ethics council (MKD) by Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said who claimed that the House speaker insisted that he had already secured an approval from President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla to receive shares from Freeport in exchange for assurance that the government would grant a contract extension for its mining operations in Papua.
Sudirman also submitted a copy of a recording of the conversation.
In the 90-minute recording, Luhut's name was alledgedly mentioned 66 times by the parties directly involved in the conversation.
In Friday's press conference, Luhut maintained that during his tenure as presidential chief of staff, he had never made a recommendation to President Jokowi to grant a contract extension to Freeport Indonesia prior to 2019, two years before the firm's contract is set to expire.
Instead, according to Luhut, he had reminded Jokowi several times that it would be ill-advised to hold extension talks earlier because government regulation (PP) No. 77/2010, which amended PP No. 23/2020 on mineral and coal mining businesses, stipulated that an extension request can only be proposed a maximum of two years and a minimum of six months before a contract was due to expire.
Luhut pointed out that he had continued to remind Jokowi after he had learnt that a number of individuals had been trying to hasten the extension process.
'I told [Jokowi] that Freeport's [contract] could only be extended in 2019. I advised him against [an early extension] because it would endanger him, he would be perceived as having violated the law,' he said.
One of the memos sent to Jokowi had been on June 17, Luhut said, several days after Setya's alleged last meeting with Maroef and Reza.
He added that despite the controversy, he continued to be on good terms with Setya and Reza and said that their friendship would remain unaffected.
Following the initial report, the MKD have held a series of hearings to determine whether Setya had indeed committed an ethical breach and Maroef, Sudirman, Setya and Reza have all been questioned.
MKD member Ridwan Bae, who joined Luhut in the press conference along with two other Golkar lawmakers, confirmed that Luhut would face questioning on Monday next week, following Reza.
However, Ridwan acknowledged that in a previous MKD meeting it had been decided that the hearings may have to be halted because the original recording was yet to be obtained.
Ridwan said that the original recording would play a crucial role when it is finally decided if Setya's actions could be considered an ethical breach.
'Don't forget that you can dub over, add or even cut things from recordings. We need the original recording in order to give an honest verdict. If we don't have the real copy, is it even possible for us to consider whether or not someone has committed an ethical breach based on what is equal to a photocopy?' he said.
The conversation was originally recorded on Maroef's cellular phone, which is on loan to the Attorney General's Office (AGO) for forensics analysis in the latter's alleged conspiracy investigation surrounding the case.
Members of the MKD attempted to obtain the recording on Thursday but failed as Maroef had told the AGO that he would not allow anyone but prosecutors to take possession of his phone.
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