February 29, 2024
JAKARTA – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is probing alleged corruption in a 2020 interior design procurement for the official residences of House of Representatives lawmakers.
The antigraft body has identified possible suspects in connection with the case but declined to reveal their identities, citing the ongoing investigation.
The KPK has also refused to provide any details related to the potential suspects, so it is unclear if the corruption case involves vendors, public officials or both.
“The results of the investigation will be disclosed later,” KPK spokesman Ali Fikri told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
“Investigators are still working to complete the [case file] and looking for additional evidence,” he said.
The KPK started expanding its investigation into the House interior design procurement last week, after it opened a preliminary probe last year in response to a report from the public.
Ali told reporters on Monday that the commission had identified more than two individuals suspected of involvement in the botched House procurement.
“[The alleged corruption] is related to the interiors of official residences, such as bedrooms, living rooms and other [spaces],” he said.
He added that the KPK was still estimating the state losses incurred from the alleged corruption, but the amount was likely to reach billions of rupiah.
Agung Budi Santoso, head of the House Ways and Means Committee (BURT), told the Post separately on Tuesday that he respected the KPK’s investigation.
Agung also emphasized the importance of upholding the presumption of innocence, especially since the KPK was yet to disclose detailed information about the ongoing case.
“Let’s just wait for the next [stage in the] process,” he said, emphasizing his belief that the House had followed all procedures for the interior design procurement “according to the prevailing regulations”.
This is not the first time that a House procurement has been put under the graft spotlight.
Read also: Behind closed curtains: House interior project arouses suspicion
In May 2022, a procurement for new curtains raised eyebrows after lawmakers were reported for showing bias toward a company with the highest bid of Rp 43.5 trillion (US$ 2.98 million).
The project was intended to replace old curtains at the official residences of 505 out of 575 lawmakers, at an allocation of around Rp 90 million per residence for new curtains.
Activists alleged dishonesty in the procurement’s bidding process, while the excessive state budget allocation for replacing curtains also drew criticism from the public, especially since many people were still reeling from the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The House Secretariat and the BUTR eventually dropped the project in August 2022.