"I clarified my capacity as the House Faction chairman. We have the Commission II chairman who explained it. However, all explanations are normative ones," Novanto said, after being questioned as a witness by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Tuesday.
He was grilled by the KPK for some four hours a second time over alleged corruption in the procurement of the national e-ID in the 2011-2012 fiscal year at the Home Affairs Ministry.
In 2011-2012, when the e-ID project was launched, Novanto was the general treasurer of the Golkar Party. He was also the Golkar Party faction chairman in the House of Representatives (DPR).
Now, Novanto is the general chairman of the Golkar Party.
"What I know is that all things with the Commission II and the Home Affairs Ministry are normative," he said.
Novanto had denied that the members of Commission II of the House of Representatives had received bribe money for the e-ID project.
Besides Novanto, the KPK also questioned, Tuesday, former chairman of the Democratic Party (PD) Anas Urbaningrum and former PD treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin in connection with the investigation into the same case.
The KPK has named two suspects in the e-ID corruption case: Former director general of population and civil administration of the Home Affairs Ministry Irman and Population Administration Information Manager of the Home Affairs Ministry Sugiharto.
According to the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency, the state incurred losses reaching some Rp2.3 trillion, owing to a markup in the e-ID project that cost some Rp6 trillion.
Nazaruddins lawyer Elza Syarif had once said that according to her client, the e-ID card project was controlled by Novanto and Urbaningrum and implemented by Nazaruddin, Adi Saptinus (staff of PT Adhi Karya), and the then home affairs minister Gamawan Fauzi, among others.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017
