Ghalib says Tommy's Timor car nepotistic<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Attorney General Andi M. Ghalib described the
\nformer president Soeharto's national car program, entrusted to
\nhis own son Hutomo Mandala Putra, as a graft-infested project
\ndesigned entirely for self-profit.<\/p>\n
Ghalib said in a statement distributed to members of the House
\nof Representatives on Monday that the national car project, run
\nby Hutomo's firm PT Timor Putra Nasional, had caused the country
\nlosses of US$1.55 billion.<\/p>\n
\"The national car program stipulated in Presidential Decree
\nNo. 42\/1996 was a program of nepotism because it was designed
\nsolely to profit the family,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Ghalib said the issuance of the presidential decree and
\nregulations backing the projects were made possible merely
\nthrough collusion between Hutomo and related government
\nofficials.<\/p>\n
The officials misused their authority, opportunities and
\nfacilities given to them because of their rank and position, he
\nsaid, adding that the scheme could lead to corruption proceedings
\nin a criminal court.<\/p>\n
Ghalib is scheduled to summon on Tuesday former industry and
\ntrade minister Tunky Ariwibowo, who issued the ministerial decree
\nin Feb. 1996 authorizing Timor to carry out the national car
\nproject.<\/p>\n
Timor was the sole recipient of an import duty and luxury tax
\nexemption from late 1996 to January 1998 when the International
\nMonetary Fund insisted Indonesia stop the preferential treatment.
\nThe tax exemption made the car 60 percent cheaper than its
\ncounterparts on the domestic market.<\/p>\n
Timor was supposed to increase its local content by 20 percent
\nannually until it reached 60 percent in the third year.
\nIn the first year, it was allowed to import all the originally
\nSephia cars from South Korea's Kia Motors Corp. without paying
\nthe taxes.<\/p>\n
Ghalib said the Timor project cost $1.05 billion in losses to
\nthe government from exempted luxury tax and import duty of the
\nimported Timor cars.<\/p>\n
To make up some of this loss the government has demanded that
\nTimor repay Rp 3.39 trillion ($425 million) for the exempted
\nimport duties on some 39,000 imported Timor cars.<\/p>\n
The government argues that Timor has not fulfilled the
\nrequired local content stipulation in the deal.<\/p>\n
In addition to the unpaid taxes, the state had also suffered
\n$500 million in losses from syndicated bank loans given by 13
\nstate and private banks to finance Timor's manufacturing plant,
\nGhalib said.<\/p>\n
Development and Finance Comptroller (BPKP) Chairman Soedarjono
\nsaid the government had suffered Rp 1.76 trillion in losses from
\ngraft practices in the first semester of the current fiscal year
\nthat began on April 1, 1998.<\/p>\n
Some Rp 219 billion and $205.48 million of the total were
\ncategorized as criminal offenses and therefore could be recouped
\nthrough criminal proceedings and the perpetrators could face
\ncorruption charges, Soedarjono told House's Commission II for
\npublic administration.<\/p>\n
The remaining Rp 27.91 billion was lost through civil
\nmalfeasance, he said.<\/p>\n
Noncriminal cases are normally handled by related ministries
\nor governmental bodies, or transferred to the Attorney General's
\nOffice to recover the lost money.<\/p>\n
Soedarjono said the comptroller also suspected that 69 out of
\nsome 2,000 presidential decrees issued during Soeharto's seven
\npresidential terms might be tainted with corruption, collusion
\nand nepotism.<\/p>\n
Most of the problem presidential decrees were issued during
\nhis 1993\/1998 term of office.<\/p>\n
The comptroller, however, would only evaluate 37 of the 69
\ndecrees for the time being due to their urgency, he said.<\/p>\n
Soedarjono said that since Soeharto was forced to step down
\nand replaced by his vice president B.J. Habibie in May, it had
\nbecome easier for the comptroller to investigate graft.<\/p>\n
He said there were no longer political interventions as in the
\nSoeharto era, when many government irregularities were concealed
\nor went unchallenged.<\/p>\n
\"The reform era really helps our auditing job. Those who want
\nto intervene are deterred now,\" he said. (das)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ghalib-says-tommys-timor-car-nepotistic-1447893297",
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