"Requesting a postponement is allowed, but we cannot necessarily meet it. Investigators have clear stages in handling the case. However, we appreciate the DPR for submitting the letter," said KPK deputy chairman Saut Situmorang.
In the letter bearing the DPR logo dated Sept. 12, 2017 that was received by the KPK, Fadli said that the DPR leadership, through his capacity as politics, law and security coordinator, had received a letter from Novanto on Sept. 7, 2017.
Novanto’s letter asked the KPK to postpone his questioning until a decision had been made in the pretrial hearing on the case. The pretrial hearing on his being named suspect in the case, for which Novanto submitted a request, will resume on Sept. 20 at the South Jakarta District Court.
Fadli said Novanto had written the letter as a private citizen, not in his capacity as House speaker. Novanto submitted the request letter or public complaint to the DPR to be forwarded to the KPK as the relevant institution. Incidentally, his deputy Fadli is in charge of the law section at the House
"I am treating Pak Novanto as an ordinary citizen, there is nothing wrong with that," Fadli said.
However,the DPR letter was issued without the consent of other DPR leaders, such as House deputy speakers Taufik Kurniawan and Agus Hermanto, because it had not been discussed in a leadership forum. Therefore, Taufik said he objected to the letter signed by Fadli on behalf of the DPR leadership.
"It was not issued within the context of the House leadership, because it was never discussed in a meeting. Usually, forwarding a letter in the name of the DPR leadership deals with political matters, such as invitations to ministers and working partners," Taufik said.
The chairman of the House’s Golkar Party faction,Robert J Kardinal, said his faction, of which Novanto is a member, were not aware of his letter.
Bad precedent
Gerindra Party faction chairman Ahmad Muzani believed that Fadli, who is a member of his party, had exceeded his authority as a DPR leader. "A DPR leader acts only as a mouthpiece of the DPR membership. We deplore that letter from the DPR leadership to the KPK. It gives an impression as though there is intervention in the KPK’s legal process," he said.
For an issue as important as that conveyed in the letter, Muzani added, the DPR leadership should have invited all House factions to discuss the matter before the letter was submitted to the KPK.
Muzani, who is also the Gerindra secretary-general, promised to question Fadli on the issue. The House Honorary Council (MKD) should have first cleared the case to maintain the honor of the DPR.
A House member from the National Mandate Party faction, Bara Hasibuan, also asked the MKD to act immediately, because the issue pointed to a violation of the House’s code of ethics.
”It seems as if the institution of the DPR has been dragged into the legal case of an individual House member, in this case the House Speaker. This sets a bad precedent,” he said.
The Indonesian Anti-Corruption Community (MAKI) has reported Fadli to the MKD in connection with the letter. MAKI coordinator Boyamin Saiman said Fadli was believed to have violated Article 6, Paragraph 5 of the DPR Code of Ethics, which states that a House member is not allowed to use his position to affect the legal process for individual interests or in the interests of other parties. “Legal process” includes investigations and prosecution.
It believed that Fadli had also violated Art. 3, Para. 1 of the DPR Code of, which states that a House member must avoid inappropriate behavior,according to societal ethics and norms, both within and without the House, which can demean the reputation and honor of the DPR.
MKD deputy chairman Sarifuddin Sudding from the Hanura Party faction said that if a report related to the letter was submitted to the MKD, the council would follow up on it.
Provisional verdict
The Constitutional Court (MK) has declined to issue a provisional verdict in the test case on the authority of the House’s Special Inquiry Committee on the KPK. A provisional verdict in the test case on Law No. 17/2014 on the People\'s Consultative Assembly, the DPR, the Regional Representatives Council and Provincial/City Legislative Councils, or the MD3 Law, had been requested by the applicants: Busyro Muqoddas and MAKI members Achmad Saifudin Firdaus, Horas AM Naiborhu, as well as Harun Al Rasyid from the KPK\'s employees group.
MK deputy chairman Anwar Usman read out the decision not to issue a provisional verdict on Wednesday. Anwar mentioned that the decision followed the results of a consultative meeting of judges held on Sept. 6, 2017. Only eight of the nine constitutional judges attended the meeting. The absent judge, Saldi Isra, was not able to attend because he was on hajj.
During the voting, Anwar said, four judges voted against issuing a provisional verdict and the four others were for its issuance. The four who voted against were Arief Hidayat, Anwar Usman, Aswanto, and Wahiduddin Adams, while those who voted for a provisional verdict were I Dewa Gede Palguna, Maria Farida Indrati, Suhartoyo, and Manahan Sitompul.
The tied vote forced the MK to refer to Art.45, Para. 8 of Law No. 24/2003 on the Constitutional Court, which states: "In the case that a consultative plenary session of constitutional judges as mentioned in Paragraph 7 cannot be taken by a majority vote, the vote of the plenary session’s chairman is to be decisive."
"As the vote of MK chairman Arief Hidayat was counted among the four judges against the issuance of a provisional verdict, the request for a provisional verdict has been rejected," declared Anwar. Upon the MK\'s rejection of a provisional verdict, the test case on the MD3 Law can proceed without interruption.
The University of Indonesia’s Law School professor Satya Arinanto regretted the MK\'s stance, as it was needed to bridge the differences of opinion between the House\'s Inquiry Committee and the KPK.
(APA/AGE/IAN/REK)
Timeline:
KPK-DPR Tension e-ID Case
Dec. 13, 2016: KPK questions DPR Speaker Setya Novanto in e-ID case
Apr. 11, 2017: KPK bars Novanto from overseas travel
Jun. 7, 2017: DPR forms Inquiry Committee on KPK, supported by 7 factions.
Jun. 19, 2017: KPK declines Inquiry Committee’s information request on Hanura politician summons
Jun. 21, 2017: Some Inquiry Committee members refuse to support 2018 budget recommendation for National Police, KPK
Jul. 4, 2017: DPR meets Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) to obtain 2006-2016 BPK audit results on KPK
Jul. 14, 2017: KPK questions Novanto as witness against suspect Andi Agustinus in e-ID case
Jul. 17, 2017: KPK names Novanto a suspect in e-ID case
Aug. 24, 2017: DPR raises discourse on govt regulation in lieu of law on KPK.
Sep. 4, 2017: Novanto files pretrial document review with South Jakarta District Court
Sep. 11, 2017: Novanto misses scheduled KPK questioning as suspect due to ill health
Sep. 12,2017: KPK files pretrial hearing postponement with South Jakarta District Court
Sep. 13, 2017: Fadli submits ‘DPR leadership’ letter to postpone Novanto questioning; KPK wants immediate Novanto questioning as suspect; House speakers support Novanto’s ‘private citizen request’ for questioning after pretrial decision
Source: Kompas coverage summary, Kompas R&D/ERN/TPN
