PKB reports own member Lily Wahid to police for defamation

Jakarta, NU Online
National Awakening Party (PKB) said that it had reported its own member and legislator, Lily Wahid, to the police for defamation after she said that the party’s new office had been built using corrupt money.

“We have officially reported Bu (Mrs) Lily to the police headquarters at 1 p.m. this afternoon,” PKB Executive Board General Secretary Imam Nahrowi said Sunday, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Nahrowi explained that the party executive board’s new office on Jl Raden Saleh was funded purely by the party’s money.

“It was, 100 percent, not from corrupt money. But Bu Lily has tarnished our good name,” he said.

Nahrowi added that that the party was also set to report lawyer Farhat Abbas to the police on the same grounds.

According to Nahrowi, Abbas has accused PKB and its executive board chairman, who is also the Manpower and Transmigration Minister, Muhaimin Iskandar, of being involved in an alleged graft case.

Meanwhile, Lily Wahid voiced a public apology for her statements and allegations regarding Manpower and Transmigration Ministry over an alleged graft case.

“I apologize to the public and I am sorry for statements concerning flows of money in the alleged corruption case at the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry,” she said Sunday, as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Lily, sister of former president Abdurrahman Wahid, told reporters on Friday that she had information on suspicious flows of money to bank accounts of Minister Muhaimin Iskandar’s wife, Rustini Murtadho and several persons close to him.

The allegations were subsequently denied by the The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center (PPATK).

Lily said she regretted trusting information that apparently came from an unreliable source.

“This is all because of my carelessness in managing information. My source cannot be relied upon. I was shocked when PPATK denied [the allegations],” she said.

According to Lily, she will learn from her mistakes.

“This is a lesson for me to verify and double check all the information I receive. I will be more careful in the future,” she said. (p/dar)