Buloggate 2<\/p>\n
Former Golkar Party and House of Representatives member
\nBambang Warih Kusuma has a piece of good advice for embattled
\nHouse Speaker Akbar Tandjung: Be honest and openly explain where
\nthe Rp 40 billion of money taken out of the coffers of the State
\nLogistics Agency (Bulog) went, or your political career will be
\nover.<\/p>\n
Indonesians are certainly no strangers to allegations of
\ncorruption on a grand scale taking place in Bulog, the state-
\ncontrolled agency whose duty was to see to it that food and other
\nbasic necessities were available in sufficient quantity and at
\naffordable prices throughout the year for the country's 210
\nmillion population. Given the virtual monopoly that the agency
\nenjoyed and the climate of unbridled corruption that existed in
\nthe days of ex-president Soeharto's New Order regime, such
\nsuspicions are easy to understand although much less easy to
\nprove.<\/p>\n
This time around, however, the case presents us with a number
\nof additional aspects that certainly deserve some deeper
\ninvestigation -- something many in the reformist camp are
\ncurrently seeking to pursue and many in the opposite camp are
\nardently seeking to block. At stake at the end of it all is
\nnothing less than the credibility of Akbar Tandjung as the
\nspeaker of the legislature and possibly the future of his Golkar
\nParty as well.<\/p>\n
The case, locally called Buloggate II, involves the
\ndisbursement and use of some Rp 54.6 billion in funds, taken out
\nof the Bulog coffers between March and September 1999. Rp 10
\nbillion of the money was reportedly handed over to the then
\nminister of defense\/military commander Gen. Wiranto to cover
\npublic security expenditures, and a little over Rp 1.6 billion
\nwas loaned to PT Goro Batara Sakti corporation, a company set up
\nby, among others, Soeharto's youngest son, Hutomo \"Tommy\" Mandala
\nPutra.<\/p>\n
The main bone of contention, however, is the remaining Rp 40
\nbillion (US$3.9 million), which witnesses have said was handed
\nover to Akbar in his position as state secretary. The money was
\ndisbursed on the orders of then Bulog chief and minister of
\nindustry and trade Rahardi Ramelan, who in his turn gave the
\norders reportedly under instruction from then president B.J.
\nHabibie. It helps to understand the suspicions of foul play if
\none remembers that March and April 1999 -- which was when Akbar
\nreportedly received the checks -- was the period of the run-up to
\nthat year's general election.<\/p>\n
Rahardi, who has been named a suspect in the case by the
\nAttorney General's Office, testified that Akbar took Rp 40
\nbillion of the total and Wiranto Rp 10 billion. In the most
\ndamaging testimony against Akbar so far, Rahardi's deputy at
\nBulog, Achmad Ruskandar, made a statement that he personally
\nhanded over the money in three separate checks to Akbar, as
\ninstructed by his former superior, Rahardi Ramelan.<\/p>\n
This, however, contradicts earlier statements by Akbar that he
\nmerely witnessed the handing over of the checks by Ruskandar to
\nDadang Sukandar, the chairman of the Islamic Raudlatul Jannah
\nFoundation, which was, supposedly, contracted by Bulog to
\ndistribute food and other basic necessities among the people.
\nAnother inconsistency in Akbar's testimony concerns his statement
\nthat the money was handed over to the Raudlatul Jannah Foundation
\nat the recommendation of the then coordinating minister for
\npeople's welfare and poverty eradication Haryono Suyono -- a
\nstatement which the latter flatly rejected.<\/p>\n
Indonesians will in the coming days no doubt continue to
\nfollow the maze-like trails of this unusual case with a good deal
\nof interest. In the meantime, it is in the interests of Akbar
\nhimself to listen to good advice and explain the whole affair
\nhonestly and openly. Setting up a legislative committee to look
\ninto it would be a good beginning. As for the legal side, just
\nlet the law take its course.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/buloggate-2-1447899208",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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