REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said it has no intention of rebelling against the government policy over the legal process of Ahmad Hidayat Mus (AHM), a candidate to contest North Maluku gubernatorial election. KPK has named AHM a suspect in corruption despite call from the Coordinating Minister for Law, Security and Political Affairs Wiranto to put off legal process involving candidates taking part in the forthcoming regional election to prevent possible disruption of the election process.

"We are very much concerned with the policy of the Coordinating Minister, but it just happened that the time had come for this case to be made public. This has nothing to do with rebellion against the policy of the Minister. We could not confuse legal process with politics," KPK deputy chairman Laode M Syarif said after announcing AHM a suspect in a news conference here on Friday night.

KPK announced its decision to name AHM, who was head of Kepulauan Sula District for 2005-2010 and former chairman of the district legislative assembly Zainal Mus (ZM) suspects on charge of corruption in the land procurement for the Bobong airport project in 2009 causing a loss of Rp3.4 billion in state fund.

Syarif said the people of North Maluku, particularly those in the district of the Kepulawan Sula , had expressed "deep" disappointment with rampant corruption in that district.

He recalled that when he and other KPK leaders visited that district, they received an expression of disappointment from the local people over the failure of law enforcement agencies in dealing with rampant corruption in that district.

The local people were especially disappointed as the AHM case was already handled by police earlier but a pre trial decision of the Ternate district court forced police to drop the case, he said.

"This case was earlier handled by the North Maluku police. A number of other suspects were already convicted," Saut said, adding KPK did not want the regional election failed .

He said, in 2017, AHM filed a pre trial suit with the Ternate district court, and the district court accepted the suit declaring that the police charge against AHM was not valid.

Since then KPK coordinated with the Maluku police and prosecution office to re-investigate and reopen the case, he said.

KPK has the authority to take over legal investigations of corruption case from other law enforcement agencies.

"What KPK is doing is only a legal action based on the authority given to it by the law," he added.

The pair of AHM and running mate Rivai Umar are the candidates of the Golkar Party and the United Development Party (PPP) to contest the gubernatorial election in June this year.

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