Mahfud's 'Mafia' Remarks Get Angry Response From Palace
Chairman of the Constitutional Court Mahfud M.D., left, alleges a mafia influence on the president, right, regarding drug traffickers. After alleging that “ Mafia ” in the State Palace had influenced the president to commute a drug trafficker’s death sentence to life in prison, Constitutional Court chairman Mahfud M.D. is now coming under fire for his statement. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Sept. 26 granted clemency to Meirika Franola, known as Ola, who had been sentenced to death after attempting to smuggle cocaine and heroin through Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in 2000. After receiving clemency, Ola was discovered running a drug trafficking ring from her prison cell, prompting a wave of criticism directed at the president. One Golkar politician said the clemency was evidence that a drug trafficking ring had infiltarted the State Palace. Mahfud himself entertained the idea, saying that he was “very surprised” because he had for years known...