Witness Admits Receiving Rp1 Million During Mahakam Ulu Revote

Harun Jarin delivering testimony during the hearing of Case Number 327/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 concerning the regent election result dispute in Mahakam Ulu Regency, held in the Plenary Courtroom of the Constitutional Court, Wednesday (2/7/2025).Photo by MKRI/Teguh.

JAKARTA, MKRI – The Constitutional Court (MK) held a hearing on the Regional Head Election Dispute (PHPU) for the Regent and Vice Regent of Mahakam Ulu, with the agenda of hearing witness and expert testimony, as well as examining and validating additional evidence, in Case Number 327/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on Wednesday, 2 July 2025. The Petitioner, Candidate Pair Number 2 for Regent and Vice Regent of Mahakam Ulu, Novita Bulan and Artya Fathra Marthin, presented witnesses who claimed to have received money from Candidate Pair Number 3, Angela Idang Belawan and Suhuk—the Related Party—in the context of the re-vote for the Mahakam Ulu regent election.

Among the witnesses were Harun Jarin, who cast his vote at Polling Station 01 in Long Merah Village, and Marthen, who voted at Polling Station 02 in Datah Bilang Baru Village. Both testified that they had received Rp1 million from the Campaign Team of Candidate Pair 03.

Marthen stated that several individuals approached him and gave three envelopes to his mother and two envelopes to him, for a total of five envelopes. After the individuals left, the envelopes were opened, each containing Rp1 million.

“After that, he left and said, ‘Don’t forget Number 03,’” Marthen recounted before the Panel of Justice, led by Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra, along with Constitutional Justices Ridwan Mansyur and Arsul Sani, in the Court’s plenary hearing room in Jakarta.

Meanwhile, Harun testified that he was approached while buying cigarettes the day before the re-vote. He was encouraged to vote for Candidate Pair 03 in exchange for money. He later received an envelope containing Rp1 million and was asked to sign a form that included his name.

“I was asked to sign my name, and I did. I was given an envelope and a campaign card for Candidate Pair 03, worth one million rupiah,” Harun said, adding that at the time, around ten people had already signed the form.

Meanwhile, another witness, Martinus Miing, who served as the campaign coordinator for Candidate Pair Number 2, stated that money politics was not limited to the two villages mentioned by previous witnesses, but also occurred in Pemahak Tebo Village. He reported the alleged vote-buying incident in that village to the Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) of Mahakam Ulu Regency.

However, Saaludin, Chair of the Mahulu District Bawaslu, explained that the report concerning the alleged political bribery in Pemahak Tebo Village did not meet the material requirements. He noted that the complainant failed to revise the report as requested by Bawaslu Mahulu, and as a result, the report was not formally registered.

On the other hand, the witnesses presented by the Related Party denied the occurrence of money politics as claimed by the Petitioner’s witnesses. Yulius Jenau, a witness from the Related Party who also cast his vote at Polling Station 01 in Long Merah Village, testified that he did not witness the alleged envelope distribution by Harun Jarin.

“I never distributed money to anyone, including my family members who are also registered voters, and I was not part of Campaign Team 03 or any other campaign team,” said Yulius.

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For your information, the Petitioner asserted in the petition that, through the active involvement of her father, Candidate Pair Angela Idang Belawan and Suhuk continued to uphold political contracts with neighborhood unit (RT) leaders and allegedly engaged in vote-buying practices, offering payments ranging from Rp1 million to Rp2 million per voter. This approach, the Petitioner claimed, had previously been used in support of Angela’s son, whose candidacy was later disqualified.

According to the Petitioner, Angela-Suhuk promised that RT chairpersons would each receive Rp200–300 million, neighborhood groups would receive Rp5–10 million, and village heads would be allocated village funds amounting to Rp4–8 billion per year. The distribution of money allegedly extended to voters in Long Hubung, Long Bagun, and Long Pahangai Subdistricts, with cash payments ranging from Rp1 million to Rp2 million per person.

The Petitioner further claimed that this political contract strategy was concealed by no longer using written agreements with RT chairpersons. Instead, during campaign events, Angela-Suhuk repeatedly announced that the ‘sweet’ program—previously associated with the disqualified candidate pair—would be continued under their leadership. Prior to implementing this political contract scheme, the Regent of Mahakam Ulu was also accused of making provocative remarks during official events and campaign activities, including declaring that the Constitutional Court’s decision disqualifying his son’s candidacy was flawed and asserting that there was nothing wrong with political contracts.

In their petition, the Petitioner requested the Court to annul Mahakam Ulu Regency General Election Commission Decision Number 145 of 2025 dated 27 May 2025, which confirmed the vote tally in favor of Candidate Pair Number 3, Angela Idang Belawan and Suhuk. Furthermore, the Petitioner asked the Court to disqualify Angela-Suhuk. In the alternative, the Petitioner requested a re-vote to be held at all polling stations in Long Bagun and Long Hubung Subdistricts.

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Previously, through Decision Number 224/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025, the Court ordered the Mahakam Ulu Elections Commission to conduct a re-vote for the 2024 Regent and Deputy Regent Election in Mahakam Ulu Regency, excluding Candidate Pair Number 3, Owena Mayang Sari and Stanislaus Liah. In the legal considerations delivered by Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra, the Court concluded that the 2024 Mahakam Ulu Election was tainted by structured, systematic, and massive violations involving political contracts that promised financial incentives across all subdistricts in Mahakam Ulu Regency.

The Court found sufficient evidence in the form of signed political contract documents between village heads and the disqualified candidate pair Number 3 as related party. A total of 28 village heads from 18 villages across five subdistricts were found to have signed such agreements.

According to the Court, while political promises—such as program pledges, assistance, or material support—are generally permissible when included in the vision, mission, and action program of a candidate, the political contracts in question went beyond acceptable political commitments. The Court emphasized that these contracts were not merely “ordinary political promises” but represented a systematic mobilization effort. The contracts explicitly outlined the role of the First Party—identified as a resident of Mahakam Ulu Regency with no legal restrictions on political support—to act as part of a campaign team responsible for promoting the candidate’s programs and promises to voters.

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Witness Admits Receiving Rp1 Million During Mahakam Ulu Revote