Ex-minister deemed responsible for haj fund misuse<\/p>\n
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Investigators began on Tuesday the inquiry of former minister of
\nreligious affairs Said Agil Hussein Al-Munawar, who they believe
\nwas responsible for the misuse of huge sums of haj funds while in
\noffice.<\/p>\n
Al-Munawar faced the music for the first time since police
\nnamed him a suspect last week in the alleged scam which may have
\nseen the embezzlement of over a trillion rupiah. During the
\nquestioning, which lasted eight hours, the investigators quizzed
\nAl-Munawar about policies he made during his term as a minister
\nbetween 2001 and 2004.<\/p>\n
The director of the fraud unit at the National Police
\nheadquarters Brig. Gen. Indarto said that the ex-minister was
\nultimately responsible for the misuse as he had held the highest
\nauthority in the ministry.<\/p>\n
"We have confiscated several documents belonging to the
\nministry and frozen the ministry's bank accounts," Indarto said.
\n"We are currently studying dozens of ministerial decrees he (Al-
\nMunawar) issued during his term to see whether there was anything
\nto justify the use of the haj funds for spending unrelated to haj
\naffairs."<\/p>\n
The alleged misuse revolves around the Development Finance
\nComptroller Agency (BPKP) findings of irregularities in the
\nmanagement of unused haj pilgrimage funds by the ministry.<\/p>\n
So far, BPKP has not finished the audit, but it has predicted
\nthat the case might involve nearly a trillion rupiah.<\/p>\n
According to the law, the unused haj pilgrimage funds must be
\nkept in one account and used for the benefit of the pilgrims,
\nhowever, the funds were found to be allocated for a number
\neyebrow-raising expenditures, wholly unrelated to the haj
\npilgrimage; items that seemed to be geared more toward enriching
\nministry officials.<\/p>\n
The interdepartmental anticorruption team has also named the
\nministry's former director general of Islamic guidance and haj
\nmanagement Taufiq Kamil a suspect.<\/p>\n
Critics stated earlier that the ministry was prone to
\ncorruption as it held the monopoly to organize the pilgrimage for
\ndecades. An average of 200,000 mostly working class Indonesians
\nperform the pilgrimage every year after paying the ministry of Rp
\n25 million each.<\/p>\n
Head of the team Hendarman Supandji said that Al-Munawar would
\nbe detained once the investigators found incriminating evidence
\nof his involvement in the scam.<\/p>\n
Al-Munawar's lawyer Sugeng Teguh Santoso said his client had
\nfollowed the regulations and had consulted with the House of
\nRepresentatives over the use of the haj funds.<\/p>\n
"Even if the ministry decided to disburse the funds, it would
\nnot violate any regulations and there was no misuse of the funds
\nas they were deposited in the accounts frozen by the police," he
\nargued.<\/p>\n
In response, Indarto said the investigators found that
\nministry officials consulted with the House only on the amount to
\ncharge people for the haj fees.<\/p>\n
Indarto said the police would verify the matter with the
\nlawmakers.<\/p>\n
The investigators also plan to question former religious
\nministers Tarmidzi Taher and Tolchah Hassan.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ex-minister-deemed-responsible-for-haj-fund-misuse-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}