Legislators divided on Akbar inquiry<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
House Speaker Akbar Tanjung's status as suspect in a Rp 40
\nbillion corruption case sparked a lively debate among legislators
\non Tuesday on whether their plan to establish a special
\ninvestigative team (Pansus) was still relevant.<\/p>\n
Legislators from major political parties were split on the
\nissue. This could mean that a debate scheduled for Jan. 21 to
\ndecide the issue might be abandoned yet again.<\/p>\n
Senior legislator from the Indonesian Democratic Party of
\nStruggle (PDI Perjuangan) Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno maintained
\nthat the investigation team was still required.<\/p>\n
\"We hope an inquiry team will be set up on that day,\" said
\nSoetardjo, a deputy House speaker, who is known to have ambitions
\nof replacing Akbar should the scandal force him to resign.<\/p>\n
The Attorney General's Office declared Akbar, who is also
\nGolkar Party chairman, a suspect for allegedly siphoning off
\nmoney from the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) to Golkar while he
\nserved as state\/Cabinet secretary in 1999.<\/p>\n
However, President Megawati Soekarnoputri's husband Taufik
\nKiemas, who also serves as a PDI Perjuangan legislator, strongly
\nopposed the investigation team plan. He argued that the special
\nteam was irrelevant after Akbar had been named a suspect.<\/p>\n
Taufik, perceived as the most powerful person in PDI
\nPerjuangan, called on fellow legislators to drop their support
\nfor the plan.<\/p>\n
Taufik's objection is believed to be connected with his
\nclandestine meeting with Akbar on Oct. 23, 2001, a few days after
\n50 legislators had submitted a petition for the creation of an
\ninvestigative team.<\/p>\n
PDI Perjuangan, the largest faction in the House, led by
\nMegawati, and the fourth-largest, the National Awakening Party
\n(PKB), are the most enthusiastic about forming the team.<\/p>\n
PKB Secretary Amin Said Husni insisted on Monday that a
\nspecial team would still be needed to strengthen the similar
\ninvestigation by the Attorney General's Office.<\/p>\n
Golkar, former president Soeharto's political vehicle, which
\nenabled him to maintain his autocratic rule for 32 years, has
\nbeen striving to block the move.<\/p>\n
Immediately after Akbar was declared a suspect on Monday,
\nmembers of the Golkar faction convened to discuss
\ncountermeasures.<\/p>\n
Golkar faction chairman Marzuki Achmad said his party rejected
\nthe possible investigation of Akbar by legislators on the grounds
\nthat the case was being handled by the Attorney General's Office.<\/p>\n
\"Akbar's status as suspect shows that legal processing at the
\nAttorney General's Office is duly underway,\" Marzuki added.<\/p>\n
Golkar, which has 120 seats in the House, managed to delay the
\ncreation of a special investigation team three times last year by
\nexploiting loopholes in the House's internal rules.<\/p>\n
Opposition also came from Tosari Wijaya, another deputy House
\nspeaker, from the United Development Party (PPP). He argued that
\nthe case should be entrusted to the Attorney General's Office.<\/p>\n
\"It will not be relevant because even if the special team
\nmanaged to investigate the scandal, it would refer its
\nrecommendations to the Attorney General's Office anyway,\" Tosari
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Chronology of Golkar's resistance<\/p>\n
Oct. 23, 2001: Akbar meets Taufik Kiemas, asking PDI
\nPerjuangan legislators not to support the Pansus plan.<\/p>\n
Nov. 22, 2001: Golkar legislators claim they have yet to
\nreceive copies of the proposal, prompting the Consultative Body
\n(Bamus) to adjourn its meeting until Nov. 28.<\/p>\n
Nov. 28, 2001: Golkar transforms the meeting into a forum
\nfor debate on the House's internal regulations on Bamus membership.
\nThe meeting is again postponed to Dec. 6.<\/p>\n
Dec. 6, 2001: Golkar refuses to include the proposal on the
\nagenda to be discussed at a plenary meeting.<\/p>\n
Dec. 10, 2001: The House steering committee agrees that the
\nproposal will be discussed at a plenary meeting scheduled for Jan.
\n21, to decide whether to approve or reject the establishment of
\nPansus.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/legislators-divided-on-akbar-inquiry-1447893297",
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