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AKARTA: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has asked Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar to explain the graft allegations at his ministry.

Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha was quoted as saying by tempointeraktif.com on Wednesday that the President had met with Muhaimin and told him to clarify “what really happened” following allegations that he was complicit in the case.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) previously arrested two of Muhaimin’s staffers and a businesswoman for alleged bribery.

The businesswoman, Dharnawati, claimed that the bribe she gave to the officials was meant for Muhaimin, an allegation that Muhaimin has denied.

Yudhoyono praised Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng, who is also a member of the Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party, for swiftly clarifying his position with regard to corruption allegations at his ministry that implicated another Democratic Party politician.

“If there is evidence that needs to be accounted for then it should be accounted for. We cannot afford to let this develop into slander,” Julia