Political move needed to retrieve Tommy's assets<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
It is a common public perception that Hutomo \"Tommy\" Mandala
\nPutra has stashed away a huge fortune by plundering state assets,
\nespecially when his father Soeharto was president.<\/p>\n
A string of controversial business ventures could easily be
\ncited in relation to Tommy: the controversial clove trading
\nmonopoly, the national car project, and most of all his many
\nbusiness deals with state oil and gas company Pertamina.<\/p>\n
However, recouping the plundered state assets by going through
\nthe country's legal channels may prove to be a lengthy process,
\nwhich in the end will not fulfill the people's sense of justice,
\nexperts said.<\/p>\n
Soeharto had managed to create rules and regulations to cover
\nthe unlawful actions of his children in doing business and to
\nlegitimize them.<\/p>\n
The public will remember how Soeharto provided presidential
\ndecrees for Tommy to produce his \"Mobnas\" or the national car
\nproject and to arrange the selling of cloves through his Clove
\nMarketing and Buffer Stock Agency (BPPC).<\/p>\n
As normal legal processes seem to be getting nowhere, experts
\nhave suggested that political actions be pursued to recover the
\nlost assets.<\/p>\n
Noted political observer Arief Budiman proposed that President
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri issue a presidential decree to confiscate
\nall Tommy's assets in order to break the impasse. Only then
\nshould legal proceedings follow.<\/p>\n
\"The government needs to take action against Tommy because it
\nwould be difficult to convict him through legal procedures in
\nconnection with those huge corruption cases,\" Arief told The
\nJakarta Post over the weekend.<\/p>\n
\"He (Tommy) received his father's help in the form of
\ngovernment rulings to provide legal support for his businesses.
\nSo, I think we need to issue a presidential decree to confiscate
\nall of his assets and to keep him in jail,\" he remarked.<\/p>\n
Arief said that such actions would definitely violate legal
\nprinciples and Tommy's lawyers would scream if the government
\nemployed such measures.<\/p>\n
\"However, there is no better option as we cannot trust the
\nlegal system and law enforcers in this country to bring Tommy to
\njustice,\" he added.<\/p>\n
He further underlined that Soeharto had ruled the country for
\nthree decades. His empire had covered all state apparatus and he
\nwas toppled through a reform movement, not a revolution.
\nTherefore, he still has \"his men\" inside the government system.<\/p>\n
\"We will never know. Maybe most of the prosecutors and
\ngovernment officials had once tasted 'the cake' from the family,\"
\nArief said.<\/p>\n
Another political analyst Bara Hasibuan supported the idea
\nsaying that the country's legal system does not have the means to
\ndeal with the huge corruption cases linked to Tommy.<\/p>\n
He said that Megawati should immediately issue such a
\npresidential decree. Otherwise, Tommy and other members of the
\nSoeharto family would continue to conceal their assets to avoid
\nlegal actions.<\/p>\n
\"She will receive public support if she does that, there is no
\nneed to worry about that. Although it's already too late, but
\nmaybe she can still save some of the country's assets,\" Bara
\nsaid.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/political-move-needed-to-retrieve-tommys-assets-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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