February 24, 2015 edition

A MEETING attended by many ministries at the State Secretariat last Tuesday to discuss the upcoming 60th Asia-Africa Conference had just begun when Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, the president's chief of staff, quickly exited the room.
Driving his Lexus car, Luhut raced to the State Palace, which is in the same complex as the office of the State Secretariat. According to one senior Palace official, that night President Joko Widodo had assigned Luhut to meet Democrat Party Chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to notify him of his decision to drop Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan as candidate for National Police Chief.

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More Cover Story articles in other editions

January 1, 1970 edition

BRIGADIER-General Antam Novambar is like a parody: this deputy of prevention at the National Anti-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) is being accused of spreading terror. His target is Sr. Comr. Endang Tarsa, the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) director of crime investigation. His alleged objective is to make Endang state that the indictment of Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan was forced by the KPK leaders.

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January 1, 1970 edition

HASTO Kristiyanto is the one who organized all information to entrap Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Chairman Abraham Samad. The dossier, submitted to the Legal Affairs Commission of the House of Representatives (DPR) last week, consisted of seven pages which the 49-year-old politician typed himself. Its contents were details of political meetings attended by Samad during last year's presidential election.
His colleagues at the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) have questioned Hasto's motives. As acting PDI-P secretary-general, Hasto should be representing the party in his encounters with the KPK. But he claims, "I'm doing for personal reasons."

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January 1, 1970 edition

A FEW hours after the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) indicted Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan for bribery on January 13, the cellphone of Sugianto Sabran, an Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) member of the Legal Affairs Commission at the House of Representatives (DPR), rang incessantly. Two lawyers he had met five years ago were desperately trying to contact the politician who lives in Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan.

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January 1, 1970 edition

HATTA Rajasa though Pramono Anung had come last year to talk about the extended dispute between the two camps in the House of Representatives (DPR). This chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN) is with the coalition of opposition parties which had earlier nominated him as Prabowo Subianto's vice-presidential running mate in the election last year.
Pramono was appointed by senior members of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to lobby other parties, in order to resolve the dispute in the legislature. However, Hatta was surprised when Pramono appeared at his home in South Jakarta, along with five active-duty police generals. "Do you still remember Pak Budi Gunawan?" said Hatta, quoting Pramono, as he talked about that meeting on Thursday last week.

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January 1, 1970 edition

Tensions were high on the seventh floor of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) building on Monday night last week. Four leaders of the KPK listened to the explanations of the investigator and prosecutor on the unusual activity in the bank account of Police Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan. "There was a lengthy debate," said a source last week, familiar with the legal process in the KPK.

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January 13, 2015 edition

ComR. Gen. Budi Gunawan's bid to become the national police chief has had a lot of help from his friends. In addition to political lobbying, some old documents have been prepared. One of these, labeled confidential, was released by his cohorts at the Police Crime Investigation Unit on October 20, 2010.
The letter, which 'absolved' Budi, was signed by Director for Special Economic Crimes, Sr. Comr. Arief Sulistyantocurrently West Kalimantan police chief holding the rank of brigadier general. The financial activity in the general's bank account was considered to be normal, even though it aroused the suspicion of the Center for the Reporting and Analysis of Financial Transactions (PPATK). This anti-graft organization felt that the amount did not fit with Budi's personal profile.

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