"We from the Democrat Party are very happy and fully support what Pak (Mr) Dahlan has done to unveil the practice of extortion by lawmakers," the head of the Democrat Party`s center of strategic studies and development said.Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The ruling Democrat Party supports state enterprises minister Dahlan Iskan with regard to his statement that some lawmakers have extorted state-owned companies, Ulil Abshar Abdala said.
"We from the Democrat Party are very happy and fully support what Pak (Mr) Dahlan has done to unveil the practice of extortion by lawmakers," the head of the Democrat Party`s center of strategic studies and development said here on Tuesday.
He said what Dahlan Iskan has done is very positive and could become a momentum for eradicating corrupt practices by public and state institution officials.
He said the image of the House of Representatives has been tarnished because of the unethical practice of several of its members seeking personal gains.
Ulil said Dahlan`s courage to unveil the practice must be appreciated.
"We must encourage him to just openly tell the names of those that have conducted disrespectful actions to give a lesson to other parliament members now and in the future," he said.
The secretary of the Democrat Party`s Department of Human Rights, Rachland Nasidik shared Ulil`s stance. He said he called on Dahlan not to be discouraged even if those involved in the extortion are members of the ruling Democrat Party.
He said the Democrat Party is still rebuilding its reputation after it was tarnished by some of its corrupt members and so the party would take strict actions if some of its members were found among those found involved in the illegal activity.
Regarding initials that have spread through SMS Rachland said people could not make a conclusion just based on such information.
"Confirmation must come from Dahlan Iskan himself and therefore we have encouraged him to do it," he said. (*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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