Focusing on Bulog, Brunie scams<\/p>\n
The following is the first of two articles by George J.
\nAditjondro on how the administration of President Abdurrahman
\nWahid and Megawati Soekarnoputri has failed earlier expectations
\nin eliminating the corrupt practices of their predecessors.<\/p>\n
NEWCASTLE, Australia (JP): On Jan. 16, the House of
\nRepresentatives' special committee on the \"Bulog-gate\" and
\n\"Brunei-gate\" scandals, will table the results of its
\ninvestigations.<\/p>\n
President Abdurrahman Wahid will be asked to respond to the
\ncorruption allegations, which may lead to an impeachment of the
\nPresident, the first of its kind in Indonesian political history.<\/p>\n
However, is this whole affair not too politically motivated,
\nto cover up for old and new vested interests? Or is it simply a
\ndrama of horse trading, to distribute the corruption pie more
\nwidely?<\/p>\n
To answer those questions, let us look at the allegations
\nwhich, thanks to the reformasi movement -- and sophisticated
\ninformation technology -- can be accessed more easily than during
\nthe era of highly centralized corruption under the Soeharto
\noligarchy.<\/p>\n
Contrary to expectations of the Indonesian pro-democracy
\nmovement, Abdurrahman and Megawati's administration have not
\nachieved much in eliminating the corrupt practices of their
\npredecessors, or in bringing the perpetrators to justice.<\/p>\n
The former dictator, Soeharto, who was officially accused of
\nembezzling Rp 1.38 trillion and US$420 million from seven charity
\nfoundations he chaired (Kyodo, Aug. 30, 2000) has been let off
\nthe hook due to health reasons.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, his youngest son, Hutomo Mandala Putra, also known
\nas Tommy Soeharto, who has already been sentenced by the Supreme
\nCourt to 18-months imprisonment for a US$11 million (A$20.5
\nmillion) property scam, has been allowed to slip through the net
\nand is still a fugitive at the time of writing this chapter.<\/p>\n
As if adding insult to injury, the President has personally
\ninterfered in cabinet sessions to absolve three top businessmen
\n-- Marimutu Sinivasan (Texmaco Group), Syamsul Nursalim (Gajah
\nTunggal Group), and Prajogo Pangestu (Barito Pacific Group) --
\nfrom any legal sanction despite their huge unpaid loans to the
\nIndonesian state banks.<\/p>\n
Their loans were part of the Rp 144.536 trillion of liquidity
\nfunds (BLBI = Bantuan Likuiditas Bank Indonesia) distributed by
\nthe central bank (Bank Indonesia) to 48 private banks and
\nintroduced in March 1998, which caused losses to the state
\ncoffers of around Rp 138.4 trillion or 97.5 percent of the total
\nBLBI funds (Detikworld, Jan. 3, 2000; Panji Masyarakat, Oct. 18,
\n2000: 32).<\/p>\n
In a manner similar to Soeharto, members of Gus Dur's inner
\ncircle of friends amassed Rp 35 billion from Yayasan Bina
\nSejahtera (Yanatera), a pension-and-savings fund operated by the
\nfood-distribution agency, Bulog. Hence, this scandal became known
\nas \"Bulog-gate.\"<\/p>\n
Suwondo, the person to whom the Bulog charity funds were
\nallocated, is also a major shareholder in a new airline company,
\nAir Wagon Airlines, established by Gus Dur in late September
\n1999, before becoming president.<\/p>\n
So, suspicions were raised that a part of the funds were not
\nused to pay for humanitarian projects in the troubled province of
\nAceh - -as claimed by the President -- but used instead to
\nfinance the newborn airline (Straits Times, June 1 & 9, 2000;
\nIndonesian Observer, June 8, 2000; Jaknews, June 27, 2000;
\nJakarta Post, Sept. 20, 2000).<\/p>\n
As in the case of the \"Bulog-gate\" scandal, humanitarian
\nprojects in Aceh became the rationale for the President to accept
\na $2 million gift from Sultan Hasanal Bolkiah of Brunei
\nDarussalam.<\/p>\n
Obviously, it added another target on the hit list of the
\nHouse and the media, which dubbed this second scandal, \"Brunei-
\ngate.\"<\/p>\n
Consequently, after the Aceh Governor, Ramli Ridwan, stated
\nthat local authorities had not received any of the Rp 825 billion
\nearmarked for humanitarian assistance in the trouble province,
\nand it turned out that the Bruneian donation was handled by
\nanother private businessman friend of the President, 237
\nlegislators decided to set up a special committee to investigate
\nthese two scandals -- \"Bulog-gate\" and \"Brunei-gate\" -- which
\nsignaled a move to impeach the President (Tempo Interaktif,
\nJune 7, 2000; Detikcom, June 8, 2000; Business Times, June 14,
\n2000; Reuters, July 11, 2000; Straits Times, July 14, 2000;
\nJakarta Post, June 13, July 18, Nov. 30, Dec. 5 & 8, 2000).<\/p>\n
These two scandals were not the only indications of the
\nPresident's (alleged) corrupt practices. He has also promoted a
\nbrother, Wahid Hasyim, a man with little to no financial or
\neconomic experience, to become a debt collector for the
\nIndonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA).<\/p>\n
This appointment attracted so much flak that Hasyim himself
\neventually resigned, after IBRA's Ombudsman summoned the
\nPresident's brother and IBRA's chief, Cacuk Sudarijanto, who
\nhad allegedly been promoted to that position due to Hasyim's
\nlobbying efforts (Suara Pembaruan, May 6, 2000; Jakarta Post,
\nMay 19, 2000; AFP, May 15 & 19, 2000; Reuters, May 15-16 & 22,
\n2000; Gamma, May 17-23, 2000; Far Eastern Economic Review,
\nJune 15, 2000; www.berpolitik.com, May 16, 2000).<\/p>\n
Out of IBRA has not meant out of government-linked businesses
\nfor this younger brother of the President, who never finished his
\nreligious or his economic education.<\/p>\n
His name has been mentioned in the media in relation with
\nAbdurrahman's attempt to revive the national car project,
\nformerly a joint venture between Kia Motors of South Korea and
\nTommy Soeharto.<\/p>\n
One of the contenders to replace Tommy's share in this ill-
\nnamed and ill-fated \"Timor car\" project is Tomy Winata, whom
\nWahid Hasyim has called his close friend.<\/p>\n
This contender is planning to involve members of Wahid's
\nNahdlatul Ulama, through the organization's Economic Institute
\nwhich had already approached producers of automotive components
\nin Tegal and Klaten, Central Java.<\/p>\n
Hence, at the time of writing this chapter it seems that in
\ncontrast to other contenders, Tomy Winata seemed to be the most
\nlikely winner in the bid to seize the Kia Motors assembly plant
\nfrom the fugitive, Tommy Soeharto (Gamma, May 3-9, 2000, May 16,
\n2000; Media Indonesia, Dec. 11 & 14, 2000).<\/p>\n
The 47-year old economic and political power broker is,
\nhowever, not the only relative of the President who made it to
\nthe top.<\/p>\n
Salahuddin Wahid, another younger brother of the President, an
\nengineer who already had his own contracting business, obtained a
\ncontract from state-owned PT Bahana Pakarya Industri Strategis
\n(BPIS) to develop a West Java industrial park (AFX - Asia, Oct.
\n12, 2000).<\/p>\n
In that sense, the Wahid clan seems to have taken over from
\nthe Habibie clan, whose private businesses previously dominated
\ncontracts from the 10 strategic industries coordinated by BPIS,
\nwhich until 1998 was directed by the former President.<\/p>",
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