'Haryanto affair should be treated as criminal case'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The alleged corruption perpetrated by Minister
\nof Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto should be treated as purely
\ncriminal case and prosecuted accordingly, a constitutional law
\nexpert said.<\/p>\n
Andi Muis of the Hasanuddin University in Ujungpandang, South
\nSulawesi, said the Criminal Code Procedures make no distinction
\nwhether a crime is committed by a layman or a government
\nofficial.<\/p>\n
Andi admitted that, given that Haryanto is answerable to the
\nPresident, the procedures for his prosecution might differ, but
\nonly in minor ways.<\/p>\n
The Attorney General's office is under pressure to open an
\ninvestigation into the allegations, which surfaced last week
\nfollowing the leak of classified government papers.<\/p>\n
The documents suggested that the minister is being
\ninvestigated by Vice President Try Sutrisno.<\/p>\n
So far the Attorney General's office has ruled out setting up
\na special team, but said that it is monitoring the case.<\/p>\n
Press reports outlined Haryanto's alleged misconduct,
\nincluding the removal of Anwar Supriyadi as president of state
\nrailway company Perumka, which is under the ministry's
\nsupervision, as a result of personal antipathy. They also alleged
\nthe spending of US$244,000 belonging to national flag carrier
\nGaruda by Haryanto's wife during a trip to Europe, and the use of
\n$1.2 million to pay for his son Kikik's racing hobby in the
\nUnited States. The reports said the minister expected Garuda to
\npay for his travels, but rarely used Garuda itself. There were
\nalso allegations that state enterprises under the ministry were
\nregularly asked to pay special levies that do not appear in the
\nministry's books.<\/p>\n
Haryanto on Monday went to see Try for the third time over the
\naffair and was told to wait for a summon from President Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Allegations<\/p>\n
Andi said these allegations should be proven in court.<\/p>\n
He said that given the heat the media publicity has generated,
\nthe Attorney General's Office should begin the investigation
\nwithout waiting for a green light from someone higher up.<\/p>\n
On the question of leaking classified document, Andi said that
\nunder article 322 of the criminal code, those found guilty for
\nthe crime could face a maximum of jail term of nine months.<\/p>\n
The mass media that first published the leaked documents are
\nalso liable for criminal prosecution, he said.<\/p>\n
Minister\/State Secretary Moerdiono, who has since confirmed
\nthe investigation against Haryanto, has ordered for a separate
\ninvestigation on how the memos from the Inspector General for
\nDevelopment, Kentot Harseno, intended for President Soeharto were
\nleaked and found their way to newspapers.<\/p>\n
Harseno's three reports ran details of the alleged misconducts
\nthat had been reported to him by the first echelon of the
\nministry.<\/p>\n
A political observer said the scandal is not likely to affect
\nthe standing of the Association of Indonesian Moslem
\nIntellectuals (ICMI) or Golkar, the ruling political group.<\/p>\n
Haryanto is a leading member of both organizations.<\/p>\n
"This is Haryanto's personal case," Affan Gafar of the Gadjah
\nMada University in Yogyakarta said. "It's got nothing to do with
\nICMI because his appointment to the cabinet was not related to
\nICMI."<\/p>\n
Affan said that in the wake of the scandal, it would be better
\nfor the other members of the cabinet to come clean and declare
\ntheir wealth to the public.<\/p>\n
Muladi of the Diponegoro University in Semarang stressed the
\nneed for everyone to keep the entire affair in perspective and
\ntreat it as a mere legal issue, and remove the political
\nelements.<\/p>\n
The question of whether or not Haryanto should resign should
\nbe decided by President Soeharto alone, he said.<\/p>\n
Muladi agreed that the case should be brought to court. "Let
\nthe court decide whether he is innocent or guilty." (imn\/har)<\/p>",
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