Crony investigation<\/p>\n
If things were not as they unfortunately are -- a president
\nwho was Soeharto's protege presiding over a cabinet largely made
\nup of Soeharto cronies -- the main headline in The Jakarta Post
\nDec. 11 ('Citizen' Soeharto questioned), might have raised high
\nhopes that at last Soeharto would soon stand trial and be
\nstripped of his ill-gotten billions.<\/p>\n
But no such hopes arose in my expectant breast -- they were
\nkilled stone dead by a headline s few days earlier, Soeharto
\nready to be questioned. The clear message of those words was
\nthat, thanks to the shilly-shallying by the government (see
\nabove) in starting an investigation into the Soeharto family's
\nvast wealth, they have had ample time to ship their loot abroad
\nand in other ways to cover their tracks.<\/p>\n
Worse still, the investigation is in the hands of an \"ex-
\npresident man\". For a start, the attorney general should never be
\na military man, more particularly if he is also a crony of the
\nman he is supposed to be investigating. The attorney general
\nshould be a skilled and respected lawyer.<\/p>\n
The last straw was when, just a few days ago, the attorney
\ngeneral conceded that the Timor car scam was nepotistic, as if we
\nhad not all known this since the Timor \"project\" was first
\nannounced. A more barefaced act of nepotism would be hard to
\nfind. So I now wait anxiously to see if my forebodings are
\njustified.<\/p>\n
JAMES RICHARDS<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/crony-investigation-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }