NU Deputy Secretary General Asks All Parties To Respect Mardani Maming's Legal Process

Mardani Maming when he was about to undergo an examination. (photo: doc. between)

JAKARTA - PBNU Deputy Secretary General Abdul Qodir invites all parties to respect Mardani H. Maming's legal process by applying the principle of presumption of innocence.

"Academics, the KPK and other law enforcers, as well as the public need to participate in upholding the principle of the presumption of innocence. The principle of presumption of innocence should not be mere jargon," said Abdul Qodir in a written statement received in Jakarta, Saturday.

The appeal was also addressed by Qodir in response to a statement from criminal law expert Abdul Fickar Hadjar regarding the imposition of the money laundering article in the case of Mardani H. Maming, who also serves as the General Treasurer of PBNU.

According to Qodir, Fickar's statement could drag PBNU and attack the figure of the General Chair and PBNU institutions so that he needed to correct his statement.

Qodir said that his party respects the right of everyone to have an opinion, especially the right of academics to express their views to the public. However, he added, PBNU has an interest in protecting the honor or dignity of their institution and the chairman of the PBNU from various hoaxes.

"We have an interest in protecting many PBNU institutions and the chairman of PBNU from various hoaxes and petty comments that are not useful in educating public life, and on the contrary it can cause harm and mafsadat," he said.

Not attacking PBNU

In response to this, Abdul Fickar when contacted by Antara in Jakarta, Saturday, said that in his statement regarding the imposition of the money laundering offenses article in the Mardani case, he never attacked PBNU.

He explained that his statement was general and normative in nature, namely if the corruption case that ensnared Mardani as a suspect was subject to the ML article, the party receiving the flow of funds could also be dragged into the case.

"I have never attacked PBNU. I only answered questions normatively that anyone who received something that was suspected to be from the proceeds of crime could be classified as a participant," he said.

Thus, continued Fickar, his statement is a general and normative answer. As someone who was once a staff of the PBNU Counseling and Legal Aid Institute (LPBH) during the management of KH Hasyim Muzadi, Fickar said the answer was not addressed to PBNU.

"That answer was only general and normative, it was never directed at anyone, let alone PBNU, where I was also a member of the management staff. So, it was an answer only as a response to a normative question. Therefore, if PBNU objected to the normative answer , I apologize because it was not aimed at PBNU," explained Fickar.