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Golkar supported e-ID project: Setya Novanto
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Golkar Party chairman Setya Novanto (second left) shakes hands with then-House of Representatives Speaker Ade Komarudin during a party event on July 27, 2016. (Antara Photo/M Agung Rajasa)
H
ouse of Representatives Speaker and Golkar Party chairman Setya Novanto said Golkar had been among the parties that had supported the implementation of the e-ID card program when it was introduced in 2010.
Speaking during a hearing in the e-ID corruption case on Thursday, Setya said the project had even been a priority for Golkar.
“If a citizen database is the priority, it should be implemented,” said Setya, who was giving testimony during the trial of two Home Ministry officials, Irman and Sugiharto, who stand accused in the case.
The politician added that when the project was proposed to the House, he was still a Golkar faction leader.
“I said [to Golkar members at the House] that as long as it was for the sake of the national interest and was in line with the right mechanism, all should support it.”
(Read also: Anas denies claims he held meeting with Andi Narogong)
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is investigating the alleged graft case, which it said had caused Rp 2.3 trillion (US$172 million) in state loss, nearly half of the Rp 5.9 trillion allocated for the project.
In their indictment read out earlier last month against the two ministry officials, the KPK prosecutors alleged that at least 37 lawmakers at the House’s Commission II, which oversees home affairs, and several other politicians, including Setya, as well as government officials, including then-Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi, were involved in the case.
Setya has been mentioned in the indictment as playing a key role in arranging how part of the e-ID budget funds were distributed among lawmakers at the House to secure its approval. (ebf)
