JAKARTA: The head of a political party backing Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s bid for a second term has been named a suspect in a graft case involving job postings at the Religious Affairs Ministry.
A politician identified only by his initials RMY, and two ministry officials are suspects, said Laode Muhammad Syarif, deputy of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). The United Development Party confirmed that chairman Muhammad Romahurmuziy had been named a suspect, secretary-general Asrul Sani said in a separate press conference.
The Islamic party will temporarily dismiss Romahurmuziy as chairman, Asrul said. Romahurmuziy was arrested on Friday in Surabaya, where authorities seized 150 million rupiah ($10,520), believed to be illegal payments for the job postings, Laode said.
KPK also searched the office of Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin for evidence on Friday, Laode added. Lukman is a member of the United Development Party, one of the 10 parties backing Widodo’s bid for re-election on April 17. Lukman and a ministry spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.
Erick Thohir, the head of Widodo’s campaign team, said Romahurmuziy’s detention had nothing to do with the presidential election and the case would not affect the president’s re-election chances.
With about four weeks to go in the campaign, polls show Widodo holding a lead of about 20 points over his rival Prabowo Subianto, who also lost in the 2015 campaign.
Still, the gap has narrowed and Prabowo, as Subianto is popularly known, has campaigned aggressively, prompting suggestions he could spring a “Mahathir-like” upset, a nod to Mahathir Mohamad’s unlikely victory in Malaysia last year.