No action will be taken against legislators named by Agus Condro in the Miranda scandal, thanks to PDI-P politician Taufiq Kiemas’ intervention.

Agus Condro Prayitno, 47, is no longer on the list of Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-P) candidates for the upcoming legislative electios. His name has been scratched out of the number five spot on the list representing the constituency of Banyumas and Cilacap in Central Java.

Agus Condro’s sin was to confess that he had received Rp500 million following the election of Bank Indonesia’s senior deputy governor in 2004. The money was paid out in compensation for voting for Miranda Swaray Goeltom. According to PDI-P secretary-general Pramono Anung, Agus was removed from the list because he had received gratuities. “Anybody receiving money after more than 30 days is viewed as receiving a gratuity,” he said last Thursday.

Agus was also judged to have damaged the party’s reputation when he revealed the involvement of colleagues in the PDI-P. Agus told the press that colleagues in his faction also received similar checks for Rp500 million. “The impression he gave was that all PDI-P people are rotten,” said faction secretary Bambang Wuriyanto.

The removal of Agus from the list of legislative candidates began with a meeting on August 20 on the seventh floor of the House of Representatives’ Nusantara I Building. At the 45-minute meeting were Agus, Bambang Wuriyanto and faction secretary Ganjar Pranowo.

After the case came to light, Agus was only prepared to meet Bambang and Ganjar. He repeatedly ignored phone calls and text messages from faction chair Tjahjo Kumolo. He even refused to meet Tjahjo, whom he accused of chairing the meeting which discussed how to share the money they got from Miranda’s supporters.

It was Bambang and Ganjar who subsequently asked Agus for a clarification of his explosive statement. The three are old friends from their time as activists in the Indonesian National Students Movement. “The meeting was like a discussion among friends and I used it to dig into Agus’ motive,” said Bambang.

After that, according to Pramono Agung, the PDI-P central board held a meeting to decide removing Agus’ name from the list of PDI-P candidates running for office. But several party managers insisted the decision was not taken at the meeting.

The removal of Agus’ name from the list of legislative candidates did not make everybody happy. They asked party leaders to check the truth of Agus’ accusations regarding other party members who also received money. “A disciplinary committee should have been established to check the facts of the case,” said central leadership board chairman Sutjipto.

The other people mentioned by Agus are still on the list of candidates. Emir Moeis is number one on the list for the East Kalimantan constituency, Daniel Budi is number two for Central Java I (Semarang, Kendal, Salatiga, and Semarang City), and Panda Nababan is on the list for North Sumatra I (Medan City, Deli Serdang, Serdang Bedagai and Tebing Tinggi City).

According to a Tempo source, they are safe, thanks to the lobbying efforts of Taufiq Kiemas, husband of PDI-P chairperson, Megawati Sukarnoputri. “Panda is the one with most at stake,” he said. “He was the one responsible for PDI-P supporting Miranda.”