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From ‘apples’ to ‘pengajian’: Code words to mask graft
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The Transportation Ministry's suspended sea transportation director general, Antonius Tonny Budiono, speaks to journalists at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in Jakarta on Friday after being interrogated by KPK investigators. (tempo.co/ Eko Siswono Toyudho)
W
hen Indonesian Muslims say the word “pengajian,” they usually refer to a religious gathering where Muslims study the Qur’an and the prophetic tradition.
It could also refer to an act of reciting the Qur’an itself, which Muslims believe is a form of ibadah, where every letter of the “holy words” spoken by the reciters will be rewarded in heaven.
However, the Islamic term has a different meaning for judge Sudiwardono, head of the Manado High Court in North Sulawesi, and Golkar Party lawmaker Aditya Anugrah Moha, who have been using the word as a secret code for their illicit practices.
“The code word for their meeting [to hand over bribe money] is ‘pengajian’,” Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairman Laode Muhammad Syarif said during a press briefing over the weekend.
Sudiwardono, the most senior judge ever arrested by the KPK, and Aditya have been named suspects for alleged bribery that intended to influence an appellate bench of a corruption case related to allowances for village officials (TPAPD) in Bolaang Mongondow regency, North Sulawesi, that has implicated the politician’s mother.
Sudiwardono and Aditya may have been the first graft suspects using the word “pengajian” to disguise their illicit activities, but they are not the first graft suspects or convicts to use code or cryptic words in a bid to mislead KPK investigators.
