As unbelievable as this may sound, an electric bass guitar signed by current Metallica Bassist Robert Trujillo was stripped from the heavy metal-loving Jakarta governor on grounds of the scribble Trujillo wrote upon the bass guitars body.

The bass guitar signed by Trujillo is at the centre of a major political controversy in Indonesia. An instrument owned by Jakarta governor Joko Widodo, was allegedly a gift from Trujillo, has been confiscated by anti-corruption investigators following allegations it was a bribe.

Yesterday, Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) announced they are permanently confiscating Widodo's maroon Ibanez guitar, mostly due to a handwritten message on its surface: "Giving back … Keep playing that cool, funky bass."

This outwardly banal scribble is code, (the KPK alleged), for an anticipated kickback. "In Indonesian, [those] words could have a meaning of asking for something in return,"  Indonesia's government official, Giri Supradiyono, told the Jakarta Globe.

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