TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Security Mahfud Md involved in a psychological war with a number of members of the DPR’s Commission III ahead of a meeting that will discuss suspicious transactions worth IDR 349 trillion at the Ministry of Finance. Mahfud and the member of the commission in charge of legal affairs exchanged statements regarding the meeting that would be held this week.
This exchange of statements began when Mahfud uploaded a tweet on his Twitter account on Sunday morning, March 26, 2023. Mahfud emphasized that he would fulfill a summons from the DPR to discuss the alleged transaction. money laundering happened in the Ministry of Finance. He asked Commission III of the DPR not to hesitate to summon him. “Bismillah, hopefully Commission III will not go back and forth inviting me again,” said Mahfud.
In the same tweet, Mahfud even challenged three members of the House of Representatives to attend. One of the names mentioned by Mahfud was a DPR member from the Democratic Party faction, Benny K. Harman. “I am ready to attend. I challenge Benny K. Harman to also attend and there is no reason to have another assignment,” said Mahfud.
Apart from Benny, Mahfud also made challenging statements to two other DPR Commission III members, namely Arsul Sani and Arteria Dahlan. The former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court asked the PPP and PDIP politicians to attend. “So are brother Arteria and brother Arsul Sani. Don’t look for reasons to be absent,” he said.
Mahfud has indeed become the main figure in the controversy over Rp. 349 trillion in suspicious transactions Ministry of Finance. As Chair of the Money Laundering Committee, Mahfud was the first to disclose these findings to the public. Mahfud’s remarks sparked polemics because they were interpreted as allegations of corruption by Ministry of Finance employees amounting to hundreds of trillions of rupiah. Due to this polemic, Commission III invited Mahfud Md to a joint meeting to discuss the findings.
Responding to Mahfud’s challenge, Arsul Sani and Benny K. Harman spoke up. Benny challenged Mahfud to open up and explain as clearly as possible about the alleged Rp. 349 trillion suspicious transaction at the Ministry of Finance.
Benny said that Mahfud, as the first party who raised the suspicion of this suspicious transaction, should not be half-way through uncovering the truth. Mahfud, he said, should not criticize his statement either. “Don’t be clamoring. If he said he challenged me, I challenged him. Mahfud had to have the courage to reveal all of his data. This is the DPR protecting him,” said Benny K Harman at the DPR RI Building, Monday, March 27, 2023.
Benny explained that he would ask about Mahfud’s motive for announcing the alleged strange transaction to the public. According to him, instead of touting it to the public, this problem should be resolved. “Why does he (Mahfud) have to finish? Because Pak Mahfud is the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs and also the Chairman of the National Coordinating Committee for the Prevention and Eradication of Money Laundering Crimes,” said Benny.
Given Mahfud’s status above, Benny said Mahfud had inherent power to settle this case. “But he didn’t do it, instead announced it to the public,” said Benny.
Another DPR Commission III member, Arsul Sani, was more calm in answering Mahfud’s challenge. He believed Mahfud raised the challenge to show determination in eradicating ML. This PPP politician hopes that Mahfud Md will have a long time to discuss the Rp 349 trillion odd transaction at the Ministry of Finance. He considered that the public needed a complete explanation from Mahfud regarding the transaction which was called the crime of money laundering.
“We hope that Mr. Mahfud will provide the time needed for a meeting to discuss the issue of this suspicious transaction. As a person who has previously served as a member of the DPR, of course Mr. Mahfud also understands that sometimes meetings in the DPR can be lengthy,” said Arsul via text message, Sunday, March 26 2023.
According to Arsul, the meeting with Mahfud was aimed at evaluating the DPR’s work on the National Coordinating Committee for the Prevention and Eradication of Money Laundering Crimes chaired by Mahfud. He said the DPR needs to know whether this committee has worked in accordance with the rule of law and has practiced the best way to eradicate money laundering offenses that can be done.
Arsul hopes that a meeting will be held between the DPR and Mahfud Md it will clarify the issue of the Rp 349 trillion transaction, including the government’s long-term plan to eradicate money laundering crime. “So it’s not just about getting applause, praise or positive narratives from netizens, now the problem just evaporates,” he said.
ROSSENO AJI | IMA DINI SHAFIRA
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