Hasto Kristiyanto, secretary-general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), delivering a speech on June 14, 2024, during a leadership training session for newly elected lawmakers at the party’s headquarter in Lenteng Agung, South Jakarta. - Antara
JAKARTA: The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has named Hasto Kristiyanto, secretary-general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), as a suspect in a graft case related to fugitive Harun Masiku, a former member of the nationalist party.
News broke on Tuesday (Dec 24) morning that the KPK had issued a Sprindik (warrant for investigation) into Hasto for his alleged role in bribing a member of the General Elections Commission (KPU) to help Harun secure a seat in the House of Representatives through a replacement mechanism.
The warrant, leaked to journalists, was dated Dec 23, 2024, the first workday after the KPK held a meeting on Friday to discuss the case.
Addressing a press conference about the leaked Sprindik on Tuesday afternoon, KPK chair Setyo Budiyanto said the antigraft body had enough evidence to open an investigation into Hasto for his alleged role in bribery, alongside Harun and PDI-P member Donny Tri Istiqomah.
"Investigators found evidence of the involvement of PDI-P secretary-general [Hasto],” Setyo told reporters. Hasto was also suspected of obstructing justice for allowing an employee to call Harun and instruct him to dump his phone in water and flee, said Setyo.
The PDI-P executive was first questioned as a witness in Harun’s corruption case in June this year, after the KPK announced it was gathering evidence on unnamed individuals suspected of helping Harun to evade the law.
Harun has been at large for four years since 2020, when he was named a bribery suspect for allegedly offering Rp 1.5 billion (US$92,639) to then-KPU commissioner Wahyu Setiawan in exchange for the House seat that was left vacant after PDI-P lawmaker-elect Nazarudin Kiemas died.
The KPK resumed its investigation into Harun after former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and the PDI-P parted ways over their differences in the 2024 presidential election.
Hasto has been a staunch critic of Jokowi’s alleged interference in the February election, accusing him of mobilising the state apparatus and government funds to back the Gerindra Party’s Prabowo Subianto, who eventually won with his running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Jokowi’s eldest son.
The KPK’s decision to name Hasto a suspect came earlier this month after President Prabowo installed five new KPK leaders despite concerns over Jokowi’s alleged intervention, given that they were selected by his predecessor’s administration.
The PDI-P has accused the KPK’s move of being politically motivated, claiming that the antigraft body had intimidated the leaders of several parties in a bid to influence their political stance.
"It is very clear that there is an effort to disrupt the PDI-P, intending to undermine or take over [the party],” PDI-P politician Chico Hakim told reporters on Tuesday.
“Only, the PDI-P has not given up, but instead fought harder.”
The feud between Jokowi and the party that brought him to power came to a head last week, when PDI-P matriarch Megawati Soekarnoputri formally expelled the former president, Vice President Gibran and Jokowi’s son-in-law Medan Mayor Bobby Nasution for openly going against the party line in this year’s presidential race.
Since then, the rivalry between Jokowi and Megawati has entered a new chapter, with PDI-P executives alleging the ex-president of seeking ways to replace Hasto with a political ally to influence the course of the party’s national congress next year, when it is slated to elect a new chairperson.
The party is also expected to declare its official stance on the Prabowo administration, as the PDI-P has now been cast as the de facto opposition for being the only party that has not joined the ruling Onward Indonesia Coalition (KIM). - The Jakarta Post/ANN
