Finish probe on Soeharto before elections: Habibie<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie on Wednesday called for a
\nquick end to the probe into allegations that fallen president
\nSoeharto illegally amassed a fortune while in power.<\/p>\n
\"It is hoped that the investigation into former president
\nSoeharto will be completed before the (June 7) general election,\"
\nInformation Minister Muhammad Yunus quoted Habibie as saying.
\nSpeaking after a Cabinet meeting, Yunus said he was underlining
\npoints Habibie had \"stressed\" during the last such meeting of the
\nyear.<\/p>\n
Attorney General Andi M. Ghalib, who heads the Soeharto probe,
\nlater said on Wednesday his office would try to meet the
\nscheduled deadline for the investigation into Soeharto's wealth.<\/p>\n
\"All members of the Attorney General's Office are ready to
\ncarry out the investigation,\" Ghalib told a year-end press
\nconference, adding that his office was carrying out what he
\ncalled its civic duty.<\/p>\n
\"It would not be impossible for Soeharto to be a suspect and
\nthat would lead to a trial. But it all depends on the
\ninvestigation carried out by my office later,\" he added.<\/p>\n
The controversial probe into Soeharto's wealth has dragged on
\nsince June and come under fire from legal experts and pro-
\nreformists who have accused Ghalib of deliberate foot-dragging.<\/p>\n
Suharto, 77, who continues to maintain his innocence, was
\nsummoned by Ghalib for questioning for the first time this month.<\/p>\n
But Ghalib earlier Wednesday indicated demands by reformists
\nand students that the former president be taken to court were
\ndimming, by saying collusion and nepotism on their own do not
\nqualify as a crime. Estimates of the Soeharto family fortune
\nrange between US$ 4 billion and $40 billion.<\/p>\n
Corruption<\/p>\n
Habibie, a former Soeharto protege, warned that any return to
\nthe corruption and nepotism of the Soeharto years must be avoided
\nin the coming financial year.<\/p>\n
\"We must prevent any leaks and wasteful spending, however
\nsmall they are. The use of funds must also be transparent and
\naccountable. Ways which might lead to collusion, corruption and
\nnepotism must be eliminated,\" Yunus quoted him as saying.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for Development Supervision and State
\nAdministrative Reforms Hartarto said on Tuesday total losses to
\nthe state from graft, most of it to members and cronies of the
\nfamily of Soeharto, stood at Rp 2.85 billion and $205.5 million.<\/p>\n
Earlier on Wednesday, former deputy cabinet secretary Bambang
\nKesowo was questioned at the Attorney General's Office over
\npresidential instructions and decrees concerning the national car
\nprogram and compulsory donations to the poor.<\/p>\n
Bambang, who was named by Soeharto as a person who knew much
\nabout his past policies, was questioned for more than five hours
\nby a team of prosecutors led by head of the center for
\nintelligence operations Sudibyo Saleh.<\/p>\n
\"I came to fulfill the request from the Attorney General's
\nOffice to give information about the drafting process of the
\npresidential decree relating to the national car program,\"
\nBambang said. He added that he was also asked to explain a 1996
\npresidential decree which ordered individuals and companies with
\nannual earnings over Rp 100 million to donate 2 percent of their
\nnet incomes to the needy.<\/p>\n
Bambang said earlier this month that Soeharto had mentioned
\nhis name because he processed all presidential decrees or
\ninstructions signed by Soeharto during the last few years of his
\nrule, including his instructions on the national car program. (byg)<\/p>",
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