Gus Dur told to explain Bulogate<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid must disclose any
\ninformation he may have surrounding the Rp 35 billion scandal at
\nthe State Logistics Agency (Bulog) if he wants to keep his
\ncredibility, House Speaker Akbar Tandjung said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The scandal, dubbed \"Bulogate\", has cost the job of Bondan
\nGunawan, one of the President's close aides, who resigned from
\nhis post of acting state secretary on Monday night in spite of
\nproclaiming his innocence in the case.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman, who is also popularly known as Gus Dur, is
\nscheduled to swear in Djohan Efendi as the new state secretary.<\/p>\n
Details of the scandal remain sketchy at best with the prime
\nsuspect, Abdurrahman's masseur Suwondo, at large, and others,
\nincluding the President, denying any knowledge about the case.<\/p>\n
Akbar believed that Abdurrahman had significant information
\nabout the scandal and stressed that it was in his own best
\ninterest that he comes clean.<\/p>\n
\"If Gus Dur has any knowledge about this, then we hope he is
\nwilling to divulge the information,\" Akbar said after receiving a
\ngroup of visiting German parliament members at his office.<\/p>\n
Failure to present a satisfactory explanation would tarnish
\nthe President's credibility, he said.<\/p>\n
The case pertains to Rp 35 billion handed over in January to
\nSuwondo, who claimed to be acting on the President's behalf, from
\nthe Yanatera foundation, owned by Bulog employees.<\/p>\n
The money was approved by deputy Bulog chief Sapuan, who went
\nover the head of his chief, Yusuf Kalla, who was the trade and
\nindustry minister until he was fired by the President last month.<\/p>\n
There have been allegations since then that the money had gone
\nto people in Abdurrahman's inner circle, with Bondan and foreign
\nminister Alwi Shihab among the names often mentioned.<\/p>\n
Akbar criticized Alwi for failing to explain why he asked
\nYusuf Kalla in January about certain Bulog funds, while
\nrepeatedly proclaiming to have no knowledge about the case.<\/p>\n
Alwi should concentrate on his foreign affairs portfolio
\nbecause he has no business meddling in Bulog's affairs, he said.<\/p>\n
\"I'd like to know in what capacity Alwi was acting in when he
\nasked Yusuf about the Bulog money. As a foreign minister, of
\ncourse, such a question is irrelevant,\" Akbar said.<\/p>\n
In Makassar, South Sulawesi, Yusuf told investigators that
\nAlwi once asked him about the existence of the Bulog funds.<\/p>\n
\"At the time he just asked me whether the funds really
\nexisted ... But he never asked for the funds,\" Yusuf said after
\nbeing questioned by two Jakarta Police detectives about the
\nscandal at his private residence.<\/p>\n
Sapuan told investigators on Monday that he disbursed the Rp
\n35 billion from the Yanatera foundation to several people less
\nthan two weeks after his meeting with Abdurrahman at Merdeka
\nPalace on Jan.7.<\/p>\n
Speaking through his lawyer Isnul Tandjung, Sapuan said the
\nPresident told Sapuan during the meeting that he needed Rp 35
\nbillion for some humanitarian programs for Aceh.<\/p>\n
Suwondo approached Sapuan a few days later to remind him of
\nthe President's request.<\/p>\n
Cabinet Secretary Marsilam Simanjuntak announced on Tuesday
\nthe appointment of Djohan Efendi as the new state secretary to
\nreplace Bondan.<\/p>\n
Marsilam described Djohan as an experienced bureaucrat who
\nonce worked at the State Secretariat, and one of Abdurrahman's
\nclose trustees.<\/p>\n
\"He is not a stranger to the State Secretariat,\" Marsilam said
\nafter meeting with Abdurrahman at Merdeka Palace.<\/p>\n
Hailing from Kandangan, South Kalimantan, 60-year-old Djohan
\nis currently the head of the research and development agency of
\nthe Ministry of Religious Affairs.<\/p>\n
Marsilam said the President had decided not to fill Bondan's
\nother vacated post of secretary of government supervision.<\/p>\n
Bondan, who was recruited into the President's inner circle in
\nJanuary, said he would return to his previous activities as a
\nnon-governmental organization activist.<\/p>\n
Bondan's resignation also solicited praises from people who
\nregard him as a person of high integrity.<\/p>\n
Aceh deputy council speaker H. Nurdin recalled Bondan's role
\nin mediating with the Aceh Free Movement (GAM) to restore peace
\nin the province.<\/p>\n
\"He has done so much for the Acehnese,\" Nurdin said.<\/p>\n
Junaidi, the leader of Indonesian Islamic Student Association
\n(PPII) in Aceh, believed that Bondan was a victim of political
\nrifts among the elites.<\/p>\n
The reference of Aceh in the Bulog scandal, he said, was an
\nattempt to discredit Bondan for his mediation efforts.<\/p>\n
Head of the National Law Commission, J.E. Sahetapy, said
\nBondan had every right to resign, but he was still needed to help
\nwith the police investigation.<\/p>\n
A legislator from the National Awakening Party (PKB), Noer
\nIskandar Al-Barsany, praised Bondan for his bold decision to
\nresign.<\/p>\n
\"It's a reflection of his sportsmanship,\" Noer said.
\n(jun\/01\/50\/51\/44\/45\/edt\/prb)<\/p>",
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