Thursday 17 July 2008

Indonesia's Corruption Agency Says Another Lawmaker Arrested

Indonesia's Corruption Agency Says Another Lawmaker Arrested

17th July

JAKARTA (AFP)--Indonesian authorities arrested a lawmaker Wednesday for allegedly taking bribes from developers, the sixth parliamentarian to be detained this year in a corruption crackdown, an official said.

Yusuf Emir Faishal, from ex-president Abdurrahman Wahid's National Awakening Party, was arrested by the powerful Corruption Eradication Commission in the early hours of the morning, commission spokesman Johan Budi said.

He's suspected of taking bribes in connection with a parliamentary decision to approve the rezoning of forest land for commercial development.
"He was arrested early Wednesday and has been named a suspect in the case," Budi said.

Yusuf had already returned $81,750 in alleged bribe money but the total he was suspected of taking from developers was not known.

He was head of a parliamentary commission overseeing forest management in 2005 when he allegedly received bribes to allow development on some 600 hectares of mangrove forest in South Sumatra province.

Indonesia's one of the world's most corrupt countries and ranks 143rd on Transparency International's global corruption perceptions index, on an equal pegging with Russia, Togo and Gambia. (END) Dow Jones Newswires