A corruption suspect from the PKB claims he shared the money with party dignitaries, with receipt and bank transfer documents as proof.

THE two press conferences were held almost simultaneously Wednesday morning last week. The National Awakening Party (PKB) of advisory board chairman Abdurrahman Wahid’s camp invited the media to the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) head office at Kramat at 11am. Four hours later, executive board chairman Muhaimin Iskandar’s PKB held a press conference at the party’s general election team office in Menteng.

A rift has long affected the party of NU—the biggest Islamic organization in the country—members that clinched 11.5 million votes in the last general elections. Muhaimin’s firing by Abdurrahman Wahid in late May is the reason behind the rift, causing constant bickering between the two parties. Make no mistake, however, that the sudden press conference did not discuss the breakup. They were just nervous about the unexpected confession made by the party’s senior politician Yusuf Faishal, 49.

A day earlier, Yusuf—former head of the House of Representatives (DPR) Forestry & Plantations Commission—was arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). He is the sixth DPR member held by the KPK since the end of last year. The furor is Yusuf’s confession that his share of the money, some Rp800 million, had entirely been given to the party.

And Yusuf did not only talk. He distributed to the journalists photocopies to corroborate his testimony. The photocopies include evidence of a Rp300 million bank transfer from Yusuf to the party treasurer, Aris Junaidi, in November 2006. In addition, there is a photocopied receipt of Rp500 million for Muamir Mu’in  Syam, chairman of the party’s executive board. The July 2007 receipt states that the money is given for the purpose of constructing an office charged with the task to enable the PKB to win the general elections. “So, all the money goes to the party,” said Yusuf’s lawyer Sheila Salomo.

Being accused of getting money from corruption is obviously a serious allegation. Understandably, even though the press conferences were held by two opposing camps, both voiced the same defense. They categorically denied Yusuf Faishal’s confession. “We have never received gratuity money,” said Aris Junaidi representing Abdurrahman’s camp. “We are clean,” said Muhaimin’s PKB camp’s chairperson Nursyahbani Katjasungkana.  

ACTUALLY Yusuf Faishal is not a new figure in the PKB. Holder of a PhD in economics from University of Kennedy Western, USA, Yusuf actively joined in founding the party in July 1998. 

 “At that time, Pak Yusuf’s wife Hetty Koes Endang was more active,” said advisory board chairman Arifin Junaidi last week. According to Arifin, Hetty was even entrusted to sing the party anthem during the unveiling of the party at Bung Karno Stadium, Senayan. During the early days of the party, Yusuf was active in research and development while Hetty was engaged in art and cultural activities.

When the newly established party’s financial situation was low, Yusuf and Hetty held a unique auction to raise money. “Both auctioned off Gus Dur’s belongings, from eyeglasses, a cap, up to paintings,” said Arifin.

Arifin and Rozy Munir invited the couple to join the party. At that time Arifin was NU Deputy Secretary-General while Rozy was one of its chairmen. Arifin claimed he got to know Yusuf as an academic who taught economics at Malaysia’s National University. “But he was also a businessmen,” said Arifin. According to Arifin, Yusuf was a commissioner of PT Miwon.

Yusuf’s house at Bumi Serpong Damai, Tangerang, stands out among his neighbors’. The tall mansion has a spacious courtyard. When Tempo arrived there last week there were at least seven automobiles inside the two-story house’s garage.

When Abdurrahman Wahid was elected president in 1999, Yusuf Faishal got into the Presidential Palace as well. He was appointed secretary to the National Business Development Council advising the President on micro-business affairs. Such influential businessmen as Sofjan Wanandi and Aburizal Bakrie were members of the Council. “His office was at Bina Graha,” said Arifin who has replaced Yusuf as head of the Forestry Commission in the DPR.

Yusuf Faishal’s role in the PKB remained constant despite President Abdurrahman’s ouster in July 2001. When President Yudhoyono revamped the cabinet for the first time three years ago, Yusuf’s name was touted as candidate for a ministerial post. “A leading PKB figure proposed his name to the President,” affirmed Arifin. However, Yudhoyono chose party treasurer Erman Soeparno to represent the PKB in his cabinet.

THE graft case incriminating Yusuf started in October 2006 when a special team of the South Sumatra provincial government met with the DPR’s Forestry Commission in Jakarta. They asked the DPR to approve the request for a change in the function of the 600-hectare protected forest in the Pantai Air Telang Protected Forest, Banyuasin regency, South Sumatra. The local government intended to build a large seaport in the Tanjung Api-Api area. The mega project was worth Rp5 trillion.

A year passed, the request had not yet been approved because there were always issues the DPR members raised, like the building of a road leading to the port location, up to a still-undecided site for the forest replacement. Then in July 2007, the long-awaited recommendation was eventually given. 

This case came to light after a number of DPR members returned the hot money circulating at Senayan at that time. The KPK smelled the dirty conspiracy. Reportedly the recommendation from the Forestry Commission came down only after a Rp5 billion bribe was given.

Mufid Busyairi, a PKB politician, is one of those who returned the ill-gotten money. He claimed to have received Rp35 million in travelers checks from an employee of the Forestry Commission secretariat late last year. He admitted he did not know whether or not the money was distributed by order of Yusuf Faishal, who was head of the Forestry Commission. “At that time I didn’t pay special attention to the matter. I didn’t know,” he said last week.

Ever since the case was uncovered three months ago, there was just one other member of the DPR, namely Sarjan Taher (Democrat Party faction), who was arrested by the KPK. Yusuf’s attorney Sheila Salomo wonders why no other Forestry Commission members have been held. “To think that according to Pak Yusuf’s confession, the decision to receive the money was made by the Commission meeting,” she said.

TO date, the PKB politicians are still quarreling over who enjoyed hundreds of millions of rupiah from Yusuf Faishal. Party treasurer Aris Junaidi claimed that the Rp300 million transfer shown by Yusuf has nothing to do with the bribe money. According to him, the transfer is part of the money returned from the Regional Heads Election Victory Coordination Team headed by Yusuf two years ago. “In fact, there’s still Rp600 million Yusuf has not returned yet,” he said.

Aris counterattacked a number of DPR members from Muhaimin’s camp—like Ida Fauziah and Helmy Faisal Zaini—who got a share of the money. Muhaimin’s camp, obviously, denied the accusation right away.

Ida Fauziah, former head of the party’s faction in the DPR, did admit she received money from Yusuf Faishal but it was donation for the faction and party. Every faction member, she said, should donate 40 percent of their salary to the party. In addition, there is a voluntary donation whenever the party conducts a special activity. “There’s a record for everything,” said Ida.

Despite the constant bickering, both Muhaimin’s and Abdurrahman’s camps agreed that Yusuf Faishal was a politician who made generous donations for the party. Until last week, they had never questioned the origin of all Yusuf’s donations. “We adhere to the presumption of innocence principle,” said Nursyahbani. “But we should have been more alert,” she added.