Asked About The Deputy Chairperson Of The East Java DPRD Who Was Affected By The KPK OTT, Secretary General Of Golkar: Already Well, Better We Focus On Preparation For Elections

Deputy Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives Lodewijk F. Paulus at Nusantara II Building. (Photo: Mario/Man)

JAKARTA - Deputy Chairman of the East Java DPRD, Sahat Tua Simanjuntak was caught in the KPK's arrest operation (OTT), in Surabaya. Sahat was arrested along with three private parties regarding the alleged bribery of the East Java Provincial APBD allocation. Responding to this, the Secretary General of the Golkar Party, Lodewijk F Paulus, admitted that he did not know anything about the case that ensnared his cadres. He said he would confirm the information that the KPK has not yet officially announced.

"It seems that there has been no confirmation. If I read on social media it was an event in 2020 so we don't know, we don't know, but we will confirm it," said Lodewijk at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Thursday, December 15.

Meanwhile, Lodewijk continued, the Golkar Party appreciates the legal process carried out by the KPK against Sahat. According to him, Sahat's arrest will certainly be a warning whip for all banyan party cadres to stay away from corruption. "What is clear is that we appreciate what the KPK has done in the context of law enforcement. We hope that this will also be a whip and warning for Golkar cadres, to avoid things like that. So, I can't say that we don't know exactly, but he said that there is a grant fund listed in 2020. So, what we don't know yet," he explained. The deputy chairman of the DPR revealed that so far the Golkar Party has not prepared legal assistance for Sahat. The reason is, the party also doesn't know whether the person concerned needs legal assistance or not.

"He hasn't asked for it yet. What is clear is that we have Bakumham, but it depends on whether he wants to ask or not. Usually, they don't ask for it like this," said Lodewijk. Even so, Lodewijk was reluctant to extend the issue of the KPK's arrest of Old Sahat, including being busy preparing legal assistance. Because, he said, the Golkar Party's Legal and Human Rights Advocacy Agency (Bakumham) was more focused on preparing for the 2024 General Election.

"We have Bakumham's body. But that's it, it's better if we focus on preparing for our Bakumham election," said Lodewijk.