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ouse of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto, who has been named a suspect in the electronic identification (e-ID) card graft case, stands accused of abusing his position as leader of the legislative body to halt the criminal investigation against him.

The Golkar Party leader reportedly ordered House deputy speaker Fadli Zon to send a letter to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) leaders, asking them to suspend his prosecution as he has lodged a pretrial motion against the antigraft body’s decision to name him a suspect at the South Jakarta District Court.

Signed by deputy speaker Fadli, the letter was handed over to the anticorruption commission by House secretary-general Hani Tahapary on Tuesday afternoon.

KPK spokesman Febri Diansyah confirmed on Wednesday that the commission had received the letter, which was addressed to KPK chairman Agus Rahardjo and forwarded to Setya himself as House leader and the leadership of the House’s Commission III, which oversees legal affairs.

“The commissioners are currently reading and studying the letter [before making any decisions],” Febri said on Wednesday.

Despite the request, the spokesman asserted that the pretrial was a separate process from the investigation of the Golkar politician, indicating that investigators would carry on with their job.

Fellow lawmakers have slammed Setya and Fadli for sending the letter, accusing them of abusing the political institution to advance Setya’s personal interests.

Golkar lawmaker Robert Jopie Kardinal, who leads the Golkar party faction at the House, said the faction had not been informed about Setya’s move to send the letter. The lawmaker declined to elaborate on why his party’s leader made such a move.

The Gerindra faction at the House was baffled by Fadli’s move. “It can be seen as an attempt to interfere with the ongoing legal process [of Setya’s case],” said Gerindra’s secretary-general Ahmad Muzani. “Why was he involved in it?”

Muzani added that the party faction would seek clarification from Fadli and would punish him if he was proven to have committed an ethics violations.

In his defense, Fadli said on Wednesday that he had submitted the request to the KPK on behalf of Setya as “a member of the public,” and not as the House speaker. “I have received thousands of requests for help. This is just one of them.”

He said, “As the House speaker that chairs the House’s political, legal and security affairs, I am obliged to help members of the public that need my assistance. What I did to help Setya was just a kind gesture that I also do for other citizens.”

As of Wednesday, investigators had questioned at least 108 witnesses and gathered new evidence to build a case against Setya. The antigraft body was supposed to question Setya on Monday. However, he failed to answer the summons citing health reasons.

Golkar secretary-general Idrus Marham at the time said that Setya had to be admitted to hospital as he was suffering from a rising blood sugar level, causing kidney and heart problems. It was Idrus who handed over the doctor’s note to the KPK headquarters.

Febri said investigators had rescheduled questioning of Setya. “We have sent the summons letter to the suspect. We hope he will be healthy and come for the next one.”

Donal Fariz from Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said the letter demonstrated the attempts by the House to protect Setya. “The House has been abused by its members to protect certain people,” Donal said.

Setya was not available for comment on Wednesday. Idrus, his closest aide in Golkar, also did not reply to messages or return calls from The Jakarta Post.