About The AGO's Building Fire, Mahfud MD: The Government Could Not Lie

JAKARTA - The Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam) Mahfud MD emphasized that the government was not lying or trying to cover up the fire that burned the Main Office of the Attorney General's Office.

To investigate the cause of the fire, Mahfud admitted that he had contacted the National Police Chief, General Idham Azis and Attorney General ST Burhanuddin.

"I have already called the National Police Chief and the Attorney General so that the investigation will be carried out professionally. The government is unlikely to lie. In the current situation, the government is lying to be exposed by others sooner," Mahfud said in a broadcast of the Indonesia Lawyer Club (ILC) on tvOne, Tuesday August 25th.

During the telephone connection, Mahfud then asked the National Police Chief to conduct a professional and reliable investigation. He even requested that the public continue to closely monitor the investigation process.

Furthermore, all parties are currently being asked by Mahfud not to speculate about the fire at the Attorney General's Office. Because currently Jampidum and Kabareskrim have held a meeting to form a team to investigate the fire.

"I make sure that we have to wait for the police. Why is it because there is a lot of speculation. Some say it is deliberate to remove traces. I am not prohibiting (speculating, ed) but we must wait for the police," he said.

The former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court also emphasized that no case file was lost due to the fire on Saturday night, August 22. This is because the burning building had nothing to do with the case being investigated by the AGO.

"The files of cases handled by the Attorney General's Office such as those of Djoko Tjandra, Jiwasraya and other cases are safe. The cases will continue to run according to procedures and laws. The files are safe because they are in another room," said Mahfud.

Previously, the Adhyaksa Corps building caught fire on Saturday, August 22 at 19.10 WIB. It is suspected that the fire came from the third floor. However, it is not certain what caused the fire to appear.

After burning for almost 12 hours, the fire finally went out at around 06.28 WIB. It took 65 fire engines including two Bronto Skylift units deployed to extinguish the fire. There were no fatalities in this incident.

In finding the cause of this fire, the Central Forensic Laboratory Team (Puslabfor) of the Police Headquarters took samples of the remains of the fire. This sample will be examined by Puslabfor.

"The team has checked and taken samples at 15 fire locations accompanied by investigators and staff of the Attorney General's Office. Of course this sample will be carried out in-depth research in the forensic laboratory," said Karo Penmas, Police Public Relations Division, Brigadier General Awi Setiyono to reporters, Tuesday, August 25. .

In addition, the Puslabfor team also took several surveillance cameras or CCTV. It is hoped that the CCTV will find a bright spot on the cause of the fire that occurred on Saturday, August 22.

Later, the CCTV footage will also be studied by Puslabfor. The goal, to clarify the blurry image when the incident occurred.

Meanwhile, there are now 19 witnesses being examined. They are security officers, cleaners, and department heads who were around the building at the time the incident occurred.