Laksamana blasts decision to halt Texmaco inquiry<\/p>\n
BANDUNG, West Java (JP): Former state minister of investment
\nand state enterprises development Laksamana Sukardi lambasted the
\ngovernment on Saturday for its decision to halt the investigation
\ninto the alleged Texmaco loan scandal.<\/p>\n
Laksamana insisted that the loan transaction violated banking
\nrulings and had caused the state to suffer financial losses.<\/p>\n
\"I disagree with the Attorney General's Office that (the loan
\ntransaction) has not caused the state to suffer financial
\nlosses,\" he told reporters.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that the former president Soeharto had issued a
\nletter to exempt state Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) from the legal
\nlending limit requirement to allow it to channel some Rp 9.6
\ntrillion (US$1.15 billion) in a loan to the textile giant.<\/p>\n
He also said that the state had suffered financial losses
\nbecause the government had to spend dearly to recapitalize Bank
\nBNI.<\/p>\n
Laksamana expressed concern that the decision might damage
\nefforts to revive confidence in the economy.<\/p>\n
The Attorney General's Office announced on Friday that it had
\nstopped the investigation into the Texmaco case because there was
\nno sufficient evidence that the state had suffered financial
\nlosses from the loan transaction as confirmed by the testimonies
\nof experts from the State Development Finance Comptroller or
\nBPKP.<\/p>\n
Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes Ramelan said that
\nTexmaco had provided more than sufficient collateral for the
\nloan.<\/p>\n
Ramelan also said that there was no evidence of the
\ninvolvement of Soeharto in the loan transaction.<\/p>\n
Laksamana shocked the House of Representatives in November
\nlast year when he accused Texmaco founder Marimutu Sinivasan of
\ncolluding with Soeharto to force BNI to channel the huge loan.<\/p>\n
Marimutu was named a suspect in the case on Dec. 2,
\nimmediately after Attorney General Marzuki Darusman received the
\ndocument on the alleged corruption case from Laksamana.<\/p>\n
Laksamana was still a minister at the time. He was recently
\ndismissed by President Abdurrahman Wahid, who has been
\nreshuffling the Cabinet to improve its performance.<\/p>\n
Laksamana was unsure if there was a political conspiracy
\nbehind the decision to halt the probe into the Texmaco case.<\/p>\n
Asked if he was disappointed by the decision, he said: \"As a
\ngood citizen, I have tried (to fight corruption) but I have not
\nsucceeded.\"<\/p>\n
The respected Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) had also
\nearlier lambasted the government over the decision.<\/p>\n
The organization said that the decision was an indication that
\nthe government lacked commitment to curb corruption.<\/p>\n
\"The reason to halt the investigation of the Texmaco case,
\nbased on the result of the BPKP audit, is irresponsible,
\nconsidering that the credibility of BPKP is doubted,\" ICW head
\nTeten Masduki said.<\/p>\n
\"We also suspect a high political conspiracy behind the
\ndecision to issue the ruling (to halt the investigation) as part
\nof a plan to bail out the Texmaco group,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Texmaco is a giant integrated textile firm which was founded
\nin 1962. The group now controls various companies, including the
\nmanufacturing of synthetic fibers, textiles, garments, textile
\nmachinery, machine tools, trucks and small tractors and a wide
\nrange of other engineering goods.<\/p>\n
Texmaco's engineering goods such as textile machinery, machine
\ntools, automobile components, fabrics and garments have entered
\nmarkets in South Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe
\nand the United States.<\/p>\n
Three Texmaco subsidiaries, PT Texmaco Jaya (textiles and
\ngarments), PT Texmaco Perkasa Engineering (metals, machinery and
\ntrucks) and PT Polysindo Eka Perkasa (synthetic fibers and
\nfabrics) are listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange.<\/p>\n
The group directly employs 50,000 workers and had a cumulative
\nexport value of $900 million from 1997 to 1999. It also supplies
\nbasic materials to 270 other companies with 150,000 workers.
\n(rei\/25)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/laksamana-blasts-decision-to-halt-texmaco-inquiry-1447893297",
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