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span class="inline inline-left">TRIBUNNEWS.COM/RACHMAT HIDAYATThe House ethics council has suspended lawmakers Panda Nababan and Soewarno following their convictions for accepting bribes in the Bank Indonesia vote-buying scandal.

The lawmakers, both from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), would be expelled from the House of Representatives if their convictions were upheld after the pair had exhausted all their appeals, deputy ethics council chairman Siswono said here on Tuesday.

The Jakarta Corruption Court sentenced the lawmakers to 17 months’ imprisonment and to the Rp 50 million (US$5,450) in bribes they accepted to back Miranda S. Goeltom’s appointment to a Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor post in 2004.

“The House ethics council decided to suspend both legislators because the court named them defendants in a graft case. We will dismiss both of them if the court [of final appeal] issues a decision that declares them guilty,” Siswono told reporters on the sidelines of a House plenary session on Tuesday.

The Jakarta High Court, the lawmakers’ first court of appeal, upheld the lower court’s verdict when it rejected Soewarno and Panda’s appeal last year.

Puan Maharani, who leads the PDI-P in the House, said that the party would respect the ethics council’s decision.

“I can guarantee that this will not affect our party’s performance. We will continue to do our best to serve the people,” Puan said.

The Jakarta Corruption Court also convicted several other PDI-P politicians in the case, including Engelina Pattiasina, Muhammad Iqbal, Budiningsih, Ni Luh Mariani, Sutanto Pranoto and Mathos Pormes, all of whom were sentenced to 17 months’ imprisonment.

The lawmakers were found guilty of accepting bribes ranging from Rp 350 million to Rp 600 million to support Miranda.

The scandal has implicated 30 politicians, including 15 politicians from the PDI-P, 11 from the Golkar Party, three from the United Development Party (PPP), and one from the Indonesian Military/National Police faction at the House of Representatives in 2004.

The lawmakers reportedly accepted 480 traveler’s checks worth Rp 24 billion to back Miranda.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) previously named Miranda and businesswoman Nunun Nurbaeti as suspects in the case.

Nunun, the wife of former National Police deputy chief and Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker Comr. Gen. (ret.) Adang Daradjatun, was arrested in Bangkok, Thailand, last year after fleeing Indonesia shortly before she was named a suspect in the case in February 2011.

KPK chairman Abraham Samad has promised that Miranda would be detained as soon as investigators completed their inves-tigation.

Nunun, meanwhile, will face her first trial at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Friday, court spokesman Sudjatmiko says.

Sudjatmiko said on Monday evening in Jakarta that he would preside over the trial, while M. Rum would lead the prosecution.

Nunun has been hospitalized a couple of times due to high blood pressure since her arrest in December last year.

Antigraft activists challenged KPK investigators to track down those who were behind Miranda’s central bank senior deputy governor’s candidacy’s bribery case.

Activists said the KPK should think of creative measures to ensure that they would seize evidence that would reveal those who were behind the scandal.

Speculation was rife that the alleged Rp 24 billion bribe belonged to certain business groups who had their own interests behind Miranda’s candidacy.