Minister Grilled Over Hambalang

Jakarta Globe, Novianti Setuningsih, December 21, 2013

The unfinished construction of Hambalang sports complex in Sentul, West Java.
(JG Photo/Jurnasyanto Sukarno)

The Corruption Eradication Commission on Friday summoned Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto for questioning in connection to a graft case involving the Hambalang sports center in Bogor, West Java.

“I came to the antigraft agency to provide information on the procedures involved in the submission of Hambalang’s multi-years contract,” Djoko said, adding that he left a copy of the report with the antigraft body known as the KPK.

Djoko was questioned for three hours about the procedures for the project, initially slated for one year, to receive multi-years funding.

It is reported that there was a deviation in the multi-years contract involving the required technical recommendation from the Public Works Ministry.

In his indictment, Deddy Kusdinar, a former Sports Ministry official charged with corruption in the awarding of the Rp 2.5 trillion ($207.5 million) contract to build the Hambalang sports center, stated that the commissioner of Metaphora Solusi Global (MSG), Muhammad Arifin, bribed several public officials Rp 135 million to complete the requirements.

Djoko insisted that he had no did not give the technical recommendations needed for the multi-years contract.

In a report submitted last October, the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) listed six instances of irregularities, or non-compliance of prevailing regulations and conditions, which resulted in a total of Rp 471 million in losses to the state — up from the initial estimate of Rp 243 billion — in the construction project.

The alleged graft came to light after politician Anas Urbaningrum was accused of having received kickbacks from the winning contractors and channeling them toward his ultimately successful bid to become the Democratic Party chief in 2010.

Anas and a fellow Democrat, Andi Mallarangeng, the sports minister at the time, have both been charged in the case.

Deddy’s indictment alleges that Andi asked for Rp 45 billion in bribes for the Hambalang project.

Andi, currently in the KPK’s custody, has consistently maintained that he played no part in the scandal, although it was during his term as minister that the budget for the project ballooned from Rp 300 billion to Rp 2.5 trillion.

KPK investigators have also questioned several other Democratic Party officials in the case.