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Azis’ arrest spotlights persistent graft culture in political parties
House of Representatives deputy speaker Azis Syamsuddin from Golkar Party cited being in home isolation after having been in close contact with a person infected with coronavirus as a reason to request a postponement of a Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) summons.
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Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators bring in House of Representatives deputy speaker Azis Syamsuddin from the Golkar Party for a questioning at KPK headquarters on Sept. 24, 2021. (Antara/Indrianto Eko Suwarso)
T
he recent arrest of House of Representatives deputy speaker and senior Golkar Party politician Azis Syamsuddin by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has put a spotlight on the systemic failure of political parties to root out the plague of corruption within their ranks.
Azis was arrested by KPK investigators at his residence in South Jakarta on Friday night after refusing to answer a summons for questioning in an investigation into an alleged bribery. He cited being in home isolation after having been in close contact with a person infected with coronavirus as a reason to request a postponement of the summons earlier that day. But a KPK team discovered that he had tested negative for COVID-19 and brought him in for questioning.
He was named suspect for allegedly paying Rp 3.1 billion (US$216,371) in bribes to then investigator Stepanus Robin Pattuju and lawyer Maskur Husain last year to prevent his name and another Golkar cadre from showing up in a KPK investigation into a graft case in Central Lampung.
According to the KPK, some of the bribes were wired several times by Azis to the lawyer, who allegedly also acted as a middleman, while some, in United States and Singaporean dollars, were handed directly by Azis to Stepanus in the former’s official residence in several batches.
The bribery plot is believed to have started in August last year when Azis contacted Stepanus to help him evade investigation. Both Stepanus and the lawyer currently stand trial for their involvement in the case.
“Our investigations have found ample evidence to name [Azis] as suspect,” KPK chairman Firli Bahuri said early morning on Saturday. “As a representative of the people, he should have not done that [the bribery].”
Plague of corruption
