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Witness testimony adds pressure on Setya in e-ID case
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Anticorruption activists rally in front of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) headquarters in Jakarta on Sept. 7. They called on the KPK to immediately detain House of Representatives Speaker and Golkar Party chairman Setya Novanto, who has been named a suspect in the e-ID card case. (JP/Wienda Parwitasari)
T
he latest hearing in a high-profile graft case implicating House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto adds to pressure on the Golkar Party chairman over his alleged role in corruption in the electronic ID (e-ID) card project.
On the witness stand, former Home Ministry secretary general Diah Anggraini said on Friday that Setya had once asked her to tell Irman, her colleague at the ministry who now serves jail time, not to reveal any connection with Setya, who has recently been named a suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
"[Setya] told me: ‘Tell Irman that he doesn’t know me, should [anyone] ask [Irman]’,” said Diah, who was testifying against defendant businessman Andi Agustinus, alias Andi Narogong, at the Jakarta Corruption Court.
According to Diah, the communication with Setya occurred when the two attended a ceremony to inaugurate the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) head in late April 2014, just days after the antigraft body had named another former Home Ministry official, Sugiharto, as the first suspect in the case.
When presiding judge Jhon Halasan Butar Butar asked Diah whether she knew about Setya’s intention for giving her that message at the time and whether she suspected it had anything to do with the investigation, Dian said: "I did not know."
At the time of the meeting, Irman had not yet been named a suspect in the case. He was only named a suspect in September 2016 and was recently convicted, along with Sugiharto. (ipa)
