The Name-Dropper

SETYA Novanto, speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR), started his meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla last Monday by talking about plans for his daughter's wedding. Their conversation then moved on to the real reason for the meeting. When Setya met with Freeport Indonesia CEO Maroef Sjamsuddin, he allegedly exploited the names of the President and the Vice President without authorization. Kalla expressed his disapproval. "Why did you use the President's and my names?" said Kalla, as repeated by someone who works closely with the Vice President.

The DPR's speaker said he had taken businessman Muhammad Riza Chalid along to meet with Maroef, but denied that he had misused the President's name. Setya said, "I swear to God: I didn't bring Bapak's name into it!" In a sarcastic tone, Kalla snapped at Setya, "Really, I only asked for nine percent." Setya has denied the news that Kalla was angry with him at the meeting. "Pak JK is someone I greatly respect," Setya told Tempo last Thursday, referring to the Vice President by the latter's initials.

November 24, 2015