Anggodo awarded for "spurring anticorruption spirit”

An NGO has awarded the Cikini Center Award to businessman Anggodo Widjojo for inciting a spirit of anticorruption amid an alleged conspiracy he plotted against deputy anticorruption body chairmen.
Deputy chairmen Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah have recently been reinstated back into the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

The Cikini Center executive director, Sonny Pudjisasono, said Wednesday that the public had known depravity within legal institutions through Anggodo's role in an alleged conspiracy involving high-profile officials at the National Police and the Attorney General's Office.

“Because of him, this year's celebration to mark International Anti-Corruption Day was very exciting,” Sonny told Antara.

He added that the award did not mean that his office had supported Anggodo in the alleged conspiracy.

“Instead, we want to challenge policemen, because they have yet to decide his status,” he said. “This is a challenge for them to solve the case.”

The police have yet to declare Anggodo as a suspect in an alleged corruption case involving a controversial conversation with officials to frame Bibit and Chandra that was presented during a court session at the Constitutional Court last month.

In the conversation, he mentioned people including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Anggodo himself is the brother of tycoon Anggoro Widjojo who was involved in an alleged graft case at the Forestry Ministry.

Sonny said that his office would contact either Anggodo or his lawyer to hand over the award.

House inquiry meetings to be open for public, media

Members of the House of Representatives’ Bank Century inquiry committee agreed on Wednesday meetings would be open to the public and media including live TV cover.

The inquiry committee members will begin their work next Monday to set agendas on which state officials are to be summoned to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). This seemed to send confusing signals on how it would handle the bank inquiry.

A member of the committee, Maruarar Sirait from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said that it was essential for all of the committee’s hearings to be open for the sake of the public interest.

“If it has to, I also want the committee’s internal leadership meeting to be completely open,” he said.

Bambang Susetyo, another committee member from Golkar, supported Maruarar, arguing that open meetings would avoid “hanky-panky” among the members to fix the outcome of the inquiry.

“We will even allow live TV broadcasts so that everyone can see who is serious and who is only seeking to fulfill self-interest,” he said.