PDIP accuses search of Hasto's house of diverting the issue of Jokowi's appointment to OCCRP

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta — Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) spokesperson Mohamad Guntur Romli accused the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) of searching Hasto Kristiyanto's house in an attempt to divert the case. According to Guntur, there is an effort to reduce the problem regarding reports that the 7th President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) is a finalist for the world's most corrupt person in 2024 according to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

“We received reports that Jokowi was very disturbed and angry over the OCCRP announcement and did everything he could to cover up this news. “By deploying buzzers and intimidation,” said Guntur in a written statement on Tuesday, January 7, 2025.

Guntur said some news portals had been intimidated and pressured into removing information. At the same time, he said, activists and NGOs came to the KPK to follow up Jokowi's alleged corruption case. “So, a search at Hasto Kristiyanto's home was carried out to divert the case,” said Guntur.

KPK investigators searched the house of PDIP Secretary General Hasto. The search was carried out following the naming of Hasto as a suspect in Harun Masiku's corruption case against KPU Commissioner 2017-2022 Wahyu Setiawan.

The Corruption Eradication Committee named Hasto as a suspect on Tuesday afternoon, December 24, 2024. Hasto had not yet responded to the Corruption Eradication Commission's summons on Monday, January 6, 2024. The chairman of the Corruption Eradication Committee Corruption Eradication Commission Setyo Budiyanto said Hasto played a vital role in corruption. case. He is suspected of helping Harun Masiku escape. Harun is a PDIP cadre who is also a suspect in this case. Until now, Harun is still a fugitive. Based on the KPK's investigation, according to Setyo, Hasto played a role in first providing bribes. The KPK found the source of the bribes from Hasto.

Hasto's camp has rejected all accusations against him. A number of PDIP elites have repeatedly suggested that there was an attempt to politicize the law behind the KPK's appointment of suspect Hasto. “This case is politically charged, criminalization. I am ready to weather the storm with my head held high and my mouth smiling. If ultimately there is criminalization and I am found guilty, then it will be considered a loss to the state even though there is no loss to the state,” Hasto said in a special interview published in the January 5, 2025 edition of Tempo Magazine.

Meanwhile, OCCRP created a sort of questionnaire to filter the names of personalities sent in by the public. This investigative journalism organization received more than 55,000 responses regarding the most corrupt figures who deserved to be named. He said Indonesia's 7th president was one of the figures who received the most votes.

Joko Widodo questioned why OCCRP placed him among the finalists. “Yes, what is corrupt? What is corrupt? Yes, just prove it,” Jokowi said when met by the media team at his residence in Sumber, Banjarsari District, Solo City, Central Java, Tuesday, December 31, 2024. He said that currently there are a lot of slanders circulating, malicious framing, as well as accusations against him without any evidence.

On another occasion, KPK spokesperson Tessa Mahardhika Sugiarto denied that the search at Hasto Kristiyanto's home was an attempt to divert the case. He said conducting a search depends on the needs of the investigator assigned to the case.

According to him, it is up to the public to judge whether the search of Hasto's home constitutes a diversion from the question. He said the Corruption Eradication Committee cannot prohibit outside parties from having an opinion. “We cannot ban outsiders who think that this research distracts from the issue. “The KPK will continue to carry out actions in a professional, procedural and proportional manner,” Tessa said during a press conference at the KPK building, on Tuesday January 7, 2025.

The search at Hasto's house, Tessa said, was still ongoing as of this afternoon. He said he didn't know what evidence investigators were looking for. The search took place since 2:00 p.m. WIB at Hasto's home located in East Bekasi, West Java.

Novali Panji And The son is here contributed to the writing of this article.