"I told the president about this case at a closed-door meeting so that the matter would be solved internally because it constituted a violation of ethics but Yudhoyono asked that it should be made public through the media. So this case exploded thanks to the goodwill of the head of state," Mahfud said here on Saturday.
The MK chairman said that when he told the president about the matter, Yudhoyono was surprised and asked that a press conference be held immediately.
"To my mind, Yudhoyono is a good person because as soon as he heard about it, he immediately asked that the case be disclosed to the public. He did not want the case to be covered up. He said that legal problem must be settled through a legal process and the ethical aspect of the case should also be clarified," the MK chairman said.
Mahfud said that he reported the case directly to the president not to the Corruption Eradication Commission KPK) because it was not a matter of bribery as there was no evidence of bribery. "The presentation of the money is most likely a case of gratification," he said.
"The president and I are friends. We have a friendship bond so that I deemed it necessary to tell him about the matter directly so that it would be solved internally. Although we have different political convictions, we share the same vision about safeguarding the nation," Mahfud said.
The handing over of 120,000 Singapore dollars by Nazaruddin to Janedjri M Gaffar took place at a restaurant in the Kemang area, South Jakarta, in September 2010.
The money was then returned by Janedjri on September 27, 2010.
"Because we were suspicious about the money, I ordered that it should be returned and a receipt should be obtained as proof that it had been returned to the giverr. This case could be processed as a violation to ethics," he said.(*)
(A014/HAJM/a014)
Editor: Ruslan Burhani
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
