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Feeling victimized, Agus points finger at 'abuse' of power
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Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono gives a number one sign indicating his ticket number during the second official debate on Jan. 27. (JP/Donny Fernando)
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akarta gubernatorial candidate Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono echoed Monday a recent statement made by his backer, the Democratic Party, which questioned the impartiality of stakeholders in the race and deplored those who "fabricated false allegations" against his running mate Sylviana Murni.
Previously, a party letter dated Jan. 27, jointly signed by Agus' father Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who is the Dems' chief patron and former president, and Hinca Pandjaitan, the party’s secretary general, criticized the Jakarta gubernatorial election for having "moved in the wrong direction."
The party claimed that "law enforcers have become partial."
Sylviana is now under the spotlight for her alleged involvement in two corruption cases. On Monday, the National Police's Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) questioned her in relation to the ongoing investigation of a graft case involving the construction of Al Fauz mosque, a Rp 27 billion project, in Central Jakarta developed when she served as the municipality’s mayor in 2010.
(Read also: Sylviana obeys police summons)
"We deplore the trumped up allegations being made during these final days before the election [on Feb. 15]," Agus said Monday.
"The public has become wiser to the fact that everything has been politicized. In one situation, [legal enforcers] expedited the process, while in another occasion, they responded in a slow fashion," Agus, a former Indonesian Military (TNI) officer, said.
"We call for everyone [especially] those who are in power not to abuse their privileges by fabricating false allegations that have emerged from nowhere. It's not good for the Indonesian people, especially in practicing democracy," Agus said. (evi)
