Muhaimin, who led the ministry at the time of the case, was initially supposed to answer the summons on Tuesday, just four days after officially declaring his VP bid with Anies Baswedan, the KPP’s presidential candidate, in Surabaya. However, he requested that the questioning be postponed, saying he had to attend the international Quran Recitation Competition (MTQ) in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan.

The commission rescheduled the questioning for next week.

Muhaimin will be questioned as a witness to the case, which revolves around software procurement at the Manpower Ministry, according to KPK spokesperson Ali Fikri. The project in question was worth some Rp 20 billion (US$1.3 million).

The KPK has denied that its decision to summon Muhaimin was politically motivated, noting that it started the investigation before the NasDem Party and the PKB announced his pairing with Anies.

The antigraft body said it had named three suspects in the case and that the alleged corruption had cost the state some Rp 1 billion. Investigators also said they had searched the ministry’s offices and a house in Bekasi, West Java, in August but declined to disclose the names of the suspects or the details of any evidence gathered.

This is the second time that the KPK has been accused of playing politics ahead of the 2024 election. It was previously embroiled in a controversy over allegations that its current chairman, Firli Bahuri, had removed former investigations director Endar Priantoro for refusing to launch a full investigation into allegations of graft surrounding a 2022 Formula E event in Jakarta, a project that Anies was close to as the capital’s governor at the time.

NasDem Party member Effendy Choirie questioned the antigraft body’s plan to grill Muhaimin, calling it a “strange move”.

“The KPK is bizarre and odd. Every time a potential leader who is different emerges, they always want to stop them. It was Anies before, and now Muhaimin," Effendy told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

The KPK said it had sent the summons letter to Muhaimin on Aug. 31, a few days before the official declaration of the Anies-Muhaimin ticket.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD also played down suggestions that the KPK’s move was politically driven, saying Muhaimin was summoned as a witness to gather information about the case.

“The law should not be used as a tool to create political pressure. I believe Muhaimin's summons by the KPK was simply an ordinary questioning,” Mahfud said on Tuesday.

This is not the first time Muhaimin has been summoned by the antigraft body. In 2012, during his time as manpower and transmigration minister, Muhaimin was grilled by KPK investigators regarding a bribery case after a wiretapped phone conversation presented at a Jakarta court hearing mentioned his name. (ahw)

Popular

Military deployment against student protest draws flak

Into the light, Danantara

Fuel price hike puts further strain on workers, economy