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Setya's return as House speaker in sight

Jakarta Post - September 30, 2016

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Margareth S. Aritonang and Nurul Fitri Ramadhani, Jakarta – Golkar Party chairman Setya Novanto may regain the House of Representatives' speaker post after the legislature's ethics council cleared his name from a recent corruption allegation.

Setya, who was at that time House speaker, was examined for an ethics breach last year after he was reported to the council for alleged illicit lobbying in relation to a work contract with mining firm PT Freeport Indonesia.

Then energy minister Sudirman Said provided taped conversations of Setya with the company's then president director Maroef Sjamsoeddin and oil importer Reza Chalid.

The examination did not lead to a verdict since Setya tendered his resignation as speaker just hours before the council would decide on the case.

Ethics council head Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said the council agreed to restore Setya's name in regard to the case.

On behalf of Setya, Golkar has submitted an official letter requesting the House's ethics council clear Setya's name, arguing a recent court ruling defends such a demand.

Quoting a recent Constitutional Court ruling that has ruled out the use of recordings as evidence in conspiracy cases, Setya asked the House to formally clear his name. "The ruling shows that the accusation against Setya Novanto over a conspiracy is baseless," the letter said.

Setya may retain the House's top position any time once the House's ethics body officially announces his innocence. The council's code of conduct only requires the ethics body to declare Setya's name clean in a plenary meeting, which will immediately unlock the door for him to return as speaker.

A member of the party's central board, Yorrys Raweyai, admitted that Golkar was discussing the possibility. "But it's still a plan, a far away plan. And, it will take a while for it to materialize," Yorrys told The Jakarta Post.

Setya tendered his resignation as House speaker last year amid the investigation into his reported ethical violation that caught nationwide attention, instead of resisting calls to quit and possibly being dismissed.

It is not the first time Setya successfully has thwarted accusations against him. His name previously has been mentioned in several graft-ridden scandals, from a case involving rice imports from Vietnam in 2003 to procurement related to the electronic identity card (e-ID) program in 2013, just to name a couple. However, he has never been convicted.

Golkar deputy secretary general Tubagus Hasan Syadzily explained that the decision to return the party's chairman on the House speakership would depend on internal mechanisms. He declined to specify, emphasizing that "For us, what matters most is to have his [Setya] name restored".

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/09/30/setya-s-return-house-speaker-sight.html.