Zulkieflimansyah, a House of Representatives member from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), has been reported to the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) by a woman claiming to be his fourth wife.

The woman, Aries Suci Handayani, accused him of abandoning her and her two children.  

“According to my client, Zulkifliemansyah has failed to treat her well as a wife,” Aries’s lawyer, Jamil Burhanuddin, said as quoted by Kompas.

Aries and Zulkifliemansyah, Jamil said, were married in 2016 after the former reported the latter to the party’s central executive board for alleged indecency. The marriage between the two is considered a nikah siri (unregistered marriage), he added.

Aries claimed that the PKS lawmaker, who is running for governor in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), had abandoned her and her two children from a previous marriage several months ago.

She filed a similar complaint against Zulkifliemansyah with the House’s ethics council (MKD) in March 2017.

“We hope that the commission’s investigation will help PKS’s board and the House’s ethics council in making a decision,” he said, noting that his client demanded Zulkifliemansyah be dismissed from his party and the House.

Zulkieflimansyah denied being married to Aries, saying that she was only a close friend of his.

“I admit that we used to have a special relationship, but it was a long time ago,” he told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

He alleged that Aries’s move was politically motivated as he was running for governor.

“Everything you heard in the media is wrong. I will not do anything to respond to her actions. I will focus on my gubernatorial bid,” he said. (vla/ahw)