PDIP`s chairman for legal, human rights and legislation affairs Trimedya Panjaitan said here on Monday Megawati did not meet the KPK`s summons because she did not know about the election case of Miranda Goeltom as a senior governor of Bank Indonesia in 2004.
"Bu (Mrs) Mega did not know. She knew it after she (Miranda) was elected and therefore we saw no relevance of her (Mega) meeting the summons that mentioned "in connection with the PDIP`s decision to elect Miranda. Her rank in the party is too high for her to have to know what her party`s faction decides," he said.
To respect the KPK and to meet the demand of two suspects in the bribery case PDIP has sent the party`s secretary general Tjahjo Kumolo who was the party`s faction`s chairman during Miranda`s election to come to the KPK.
Panjaitan said in the discussion at the PDIP headquarters on Friday the party decided that Megawati would not meet the KPK summons.
"Indeed one`s decision to become a witness also depends upon willingness and based on that Megawati would not meet the request because she considered it irrelevant," he said.
Trimedya who came to the KPK along with Tjahjo Kumolo as PDIP`s official representatives said after receiving the summons for Megawati from KPK the party then held a meeting at 3pm at the party headquarters to study it.
He said as no issues revealed in earlier court sessions were related to Megawati, including by suspects or witnesses the demand for Megawati to become a witness from suspects Max Moein and Poltak Sitorus was considered failing to meet the requirements juridically or formally.
Max Moein and Sitorus are politicians from PDIP. They were members of the party faction in the House of Representatives when the election of Miranda was carried out.
According to Article 1 of the Criminal Code a witness must be the one who really knows about a crime, moreover if his/her testimony is aimed at favoring a suspect.
"So we hope (with the meeting with the KPK) just now the reason why Megawati would not attend would be clear. According to us the statement from Max Moein`s lawyer has also spread to political issues outside legal issues," Trimedya said.
Tjahyo Kumolo meanwhile said their presence at KPK was official as representatives of the party and they had been received by KPK chief Busyro Muqoddas, deputies Chandra M Hamzah, Haryono Umar and others.
He said the summons for Megawati was not preceded by a process in which the would-be witness was asked if he/she would be willing to become a witness.
"That was not done. According to the law investigators must pass the request to the one who would be summoned," he said.
He said PDIP understood that KPK had only implemented the law by summoning Megawati as indeed there was a request for it from suspects. KPK had also sent the summons three days before, he said.
However, regrettably no initial talks had been done with the suspects that had demanded the testimony, he said.
Max Moein`s lawyer Petrus Selestinus meanwhile said his client had indeed made a request for Megawati to give a testimony because he considered her knowing the party`s decision about the election of Miranda Goeltom.
He said his client had indeed asked for KPK to summon Megawati as well as Hasyim Muzadi who was Megawati`s running mate in the 2004 presidential election to testify in favor of him.(*)
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
