"As human we could understand that Yudhoyono was so furious about the allegation but as a head of state he should react more elegantly," House Commission III member Bambang Soesatyo of the Golkar Party said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Angry reaction of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to statement by corruption suspect linking him to a number of people implicated in the scandal of beef import could influence the judicial process of the case, a legislator said.

"The judges, prosecutors , witnesses and certainly the suspects would feel under pressure," House Commission III member Bambang Soesatyo of the Golkar Party said here on Friday.

Lutfhi Hasan, former president of the Islamic Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), told the special anti corruption court on Thursday that Bunda Putri, whose name has been repeatedly mentioned in the court investigating illegal beef imports, was close to President Yudhoyono.

Lutfhi testifying in the trial of a suspect in the case Ahmad Fatanah, said Bunda Putri often brought important messages from Yudhoyono to leaders of political party.

Bunda Putri even knew when Yudhoyono was about to reshuffle his cabinet, Lufthi said.

Yudhoyono reacted strongly to the allegation, saying "A thousand percent Lutfhi told a lie."

"She (Bunda Putri) knew about cabinet reshuffle? A two thousand percent lie. Even my wife did not know about reshuffle," Yudhoyono told reporters upon arrival from an oversea trip here on Thursday.

Bambang Soesatyo said President Yudhoyono should react more properly to any issue.

"As human we could understand that Yudhoyono was so furious about the allegation but as a head of state he should react more elegantly," Bambang said.

He said the president could take a legal action to express his denial rather than speaks to the public.

Another lawmaker from the Commission III Martin Hutabarat of the Gerindra Party said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should be more careful in reacting to allegation against him.

"It is natural if the president was angry and seized by emotion as his name has been linked to persons suspected of being involved in criminal case. But I think the president should be more careful and not easily provoked," Martin said.

The way the president reacted could raise questions in the public, he said.

However, the anger shown by the president is understandable if the president did not know the person named Bunda Putri, he said.

"There was a man named Sengman and there was Bunda Putri linked to him. It is natural that the president was angry," he added.

The president has also been linked to Sengman, a name of a person said to be a rich businessman mentioned during earlier court investigation of the same case.

The allegations gave an impression as if people close to the president had been behind the illegal beef imports, he said.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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