Legal Expert: Alleged "Souvenir Money" of Commission VIII Members Potentially Corrupt, KPK Urged to Take Legal Action
Legal expert from Borobudur University, Hudi Yusuf, reckons the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) can't just use the nominal value as a yardstick in dealing with the alleged "souvenir money" involving 24 members of the Working Committee (Panja) of Commission VIII of the Indonesian House of Representatives. "Any funds outside procedure is corruption in whatever form," he stressed.
This statement responds to the testimony of former Special Staff to the Minister of Religious Affairs, Ishfah Abidal Aziz (Gus Alex), at the Jakarta Corruption Court. He admitted being asked for money worth 3,000 riyal per person while in Saudi Arabia in 2024, but could only cough up 1,500 riyal from his personal honorarium. This info was backed up by former Director of Hajj Fund Management at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Jaja Jaelani.
Hudi Yusuf is pushing the KPK to immediately take legal action against those 24 Panja members if any element of malicious intent (mens rea) is found. The focus of the investigation, according to him, isn't the amount of money, but whether or not there's a criminal indication behind the giving and receiving of those funds.
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