President Jokowi urges Novanto to follow legal process

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has called on House Speaker Setya Novanto to be willing to follow every legal process initiated by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

"I urge Mr Setya Novanto to follow the existing legal process," President Jokowi said here, Friday.

Novanto, concurrently chairman of the Golkar Party, is currently being treated at Medika Permata Hijau, South Jakarta, following a car accident in the area on Thursday evening.

"I am certain that the legal process in our country will continue to run smoothly," he remarked.

The head of state, however, refused to comment on a possible replacement of the House speaker, as Novanto has been named a suspect by the KPK.

"It comes under the authority of the House of Representatives (DPR)," he remarked.

Novanto`s lawyer said he had met with a traffic accident on his way to the KPK to tender an explanation.

On Wednesday evening, the anti-graft agency visited Novanto`s residence to arrest him for having frequently failed to meet the KPK`s summons in a graft case concerning the electronic identity card project worth over Rp5 trillion. The state is estimated to have lost Rp2.3 trillion due to the corruption.

Novanto, however, was not found at his residence in the evening.
Reported by Desca Lidya Natalia

Source: ANTARA