Dani Prabowo, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has declined to respond to the discourse in the House of Representatives (DPR) on the issue of launching an interpellation motion over the 2017 electronic ID card (e-KTP) corruption case.
An interpellation motion is the DPR's right to request an explanation from the government about policies that are important, strategic or have a broad impact on the life of society, the nation and the state.
"I don't want to respond to that", said Widodo at the Merdeka Palace in Central Jakarta on Monday December 4.
Widodo said this in response to a statement by former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairperson Agus Rahardjo who recently claimed that in 2017 Widodo ordered him to halt an investigation into former DPR Speaker and Golkar Party chairperson Setya Novanto (Setnov).
Widodo also took the opportunity to question why the events surrounding the legal process involving the e-KTP corruption case are being revealed to the public now.
The president also questioned what interests are behind making an issue over the case again. "So why is being revived? For what interest is it being revived? For what interest?", asked Widodo.
In relation to the truth of Rahardjo's statement, the head of state did not respond explicitly. Widodo only asked the public to look again at the news reports in November 2017.
At the time, he said, he had already requested that Novanto undergo the existing legal process.
"This, this is the first thing to look at. Look at the news reports in 2017 in November, I conveyed at the time that Pak [Mr] Novanto, Pak Setya Novanto should submit the existing legal process, that's clear. The news reports are all there", he asserted.
As reported by Kompas.id, the statement by Rahardjo related to Widodo's intervention in the e-KTP corruption case should be responded to seriously. This was emphasised by DPR Commission III member from Nasir Djamil from the Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) faction.
"This is something that is serious. If the DPR wants to know more about the matter, the DPR can initiate an interpellation motion", said Djamil on Friday December 1.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Jokowi Enggan Menanggapi Wacana DPR Gulirkan Hak Interpelasi Terkait Dugaan Intervensi Kasus E-KTP".]
