Malang, NU Online
Former Chairman of the Constitutional Court (MK) Mahfud MD attended the National Dialogue held by the NU Scholars Association (ISNU) at the Islamic University of Malang (Unisma) on Sunday (13/10).<>

On that occasion he deplored the bribery case that could befall the institution.

"The Constitutional Court in Indonesia is one of the best among the 10 Constitutional Courts in the World. But its achievement was marred and disgraced by the bribery case," said the would-be presidential candidate.

He admitted he did not believe when he first heard of the capture of the KM Judge Akil Mukhtar who has a few months replaced him, with a bribery case. He added that he knew the credibility of the MK judges.

"I was shocked to hear the news of the Mukhtar Akil's arrest. I am sure there is no judge in the MK who do things like that. That is true, there was the issue of bribery, but it was not proven. And the case involved a judge who has been out of the MK," he said.

As reported Akil Muchtar was arrested on suspicion of taking bribes in the country’s latest high-profile graft scandal.

He is the third high-ranking official to be taken into custody by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) this year. The suspected graft that led to his arrest, along with six others, is believed to be connected to disputed results in a district chief election, commission spokesman Johan Budi said recently.

Mochtar and two other suspects were arrested at his house in Jakarta. They were caught “red-handed” and investigators seized more than $250,000 in cash, Budi said.

“The operation was based on information received some days earlier about a plan for the money delivery,” Budi said. “The two suspects were believed to have handed over the money to Mochtar when captured.”

One of those arrested with Mochtar was Chairun Nisa, a lawmaker from the Golkar Party. The judge was a Golkar lawmaker before being appointed to the court in 2008 and becoming chief justice in April.

Another suspect, Hambit Bintih, the incumbent chief of Gunung Mas District in Central Kalimantan, was arrested at a Jakarta hotel, Budi said.

The district chief was re-elected Sept. 4, but two competitors filed a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court alleging that Bintih paid voters. Mochtar was a member of the three-judge panel handling the case.

The nine-member Constitutional Court is as powerful as the Supreme Court and oversees cases reviewing constitutional law and disputes over elections and authority over state institutions.

Reporting by Ahmad Nur Kholis; Editing by Sudarto Murtaufiq