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Govt denies involvement in Yudhoyono’s ‘Watergate’ allegations
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Former president and Democratic Party chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono arrives at a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday regarding alleged illegal phone tapping involving a conversation with Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Ma'ruf Amin. (Antara/Widodo S. Jusuf)
T
he government has denied involvement in alleged illegal phone tapping of the private conversations of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, which the former president has dubbed the “Watergate” scandal.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration had not and would not conduct phone tapping, Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly said, adding that it was impossible to do so unless it was a law enforcement measure.
"We can't do [phone] tapping except if it is planned by the Corruption Eradication Commission, the National Police and the attorney general, which are related to law enforcement," Yasonna told journalists on Thursday.
His response followed Yudhoyono’s call to Jokowi on Wednesday to step in if it was proven that the alleged tapping of his conversation with Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Ma’ruf Amin was executed by or with the help of law enforcement officials.
The Democratic Party chairman lambasted the government after his name was mentioned during a hearing on Tuesday for Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama’s religious blasphemy case.
Ahok’s legal team claimed that Ma’ruf, who appeared as a witness at the hearing, received a phone call from Yudhoyono related to support for his eldest son Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, who is running against Ahok in the upcoming Jakarta gubernatorial election.
In the hearing, lawyer Humphrey Djemat also claimed that Ma’ruf had been influenced by Yudhoyono regarding the issuance of an MUI recommendation alleging that Ahok had committed blasphemy.
