Democratic Party Deputy Secretary General Andi Arief, the man who infamously accused vice presidential candidate Sandiaga Uno of paying a huge political dowry to secure his nomination as Gerindra Chairman Prabowo Subianto’s running mate, has reportedly been arrested on suspicion of drug use.
Police say Andi was arrested at a hotel in Slipi, West Jakarta, on Sunday evening by the National Police’s Crime Investigation Agency’s Narcotics Enforcement Division.
“Yes, it’s true,” National Police Crime Investigation Agency Chief Commissioner General Idham Azis told Detik confirming reports of Andi’s capture today.
Photos are circulating online showing Andi’s hotel room after it was thrashed, supposedly by police investigators searching for evidence, with one image showing a toilet being pulled out from the floor as investigators were looking for evidence that may have been flushed down the toilet.
Police have not yet announced what evidence — including illegal narcotics — they collected at the scene.
Authorities have also not yet publicly announced what, if any, charges Andi may face, but photos purporting to be that of the politician behind bars are also circulating online.
Andi was propelled into the political spotlight last year after he accused former Jakarta Vice Governor Sandiaga Uno of paying IDR1 trillion (US$35 million) in “political dowry” to secure his position as Prabowo’s running mate in next April’s election. The explosive accusation was said to have caused friction within the opposition coalition of parties, and Andi claimed that he was getting “physical threats” from political elites for making it.
The Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) said they would look into Andi’s political dowry claims about Sandiaga, but the investigation has gone nowhere since.
Sandiaga and all of the parties that make up the opposition coalition, including Andi’s Democratic Party, have denied Andi’s accusation.
The practice of cadres having to pay their parties enormous “dowries” in order to receive nominations and cover the costs of their campaign is extremely pervasive in the world of Indonesian politics. On top of their basic corruption of the democratic process, in many cases candidates end up of having to finance the dowries by making crooked money-making deals once they’re in office.
