Ridwan to lose his position at Merpati<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Ridwan Fatarudin's days as the president of the
\nstate-owned airline Merpati Nusantara are numbered after Minister
\nof Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto ordered that he be replaced
\nfollowing Merpati's refusal to lease Indonesian-built CN-235-200
\naircraft.<\/p>\n
Ridwan told the press last week that, in spite of Haryanto's
\nrequest that Merpati lease 16 CN-235-200 planes, Merpati had
\ndecided not to do so because the aircraft's unusually high
\noperating costs would worsen the financial condition of the
\nairline.<\/p>\n
Merpati, a subsidiary of the national flag carrier Garuda
\nIndonesia, has been asked by the ministry of transportation to
\nlease, through PT Arthasaka Nusaphala, 16 CN-235-200 aircraft.<\/p>\n
However, Merpati's management considered the US$110,000
\nmonthly leasing fee to be too high, saying that even a Boeing
\n737-200, with a seating capacity three times as large as the CN-
\n235, costs only $105,000 per month to lease.<\/p>\n
Moreover, according to Ridwan, most of the CN-235 aircraft
\ncurrently operated by Merpati have been losing money.<\/p>\n
Arthasaka is owned jointly by the Bakrie Group, controlled by
\nAburizal Bakrie, and the Humpuss Group, which is controlled by
\nHutomo Mandala Putra.<\/p>\n
The CN-235 is produced by the state-owned PT Industry Pesawat
\nTerbang Nusantara (IPTN) in Bandung, which is chaired by State
\nMinister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie.<\/p>\n
Ridwan said he had suggested that the government buy the 16
\nCN-235-200s and transfer them to Merpati as new equity, as the
\ngovernment had done earlier with the 14 CN-235-10s currently
\noperated by the airline.<\/p>\n
Haryanto sharply criticized the widely-publicized decision of
\nthe Merpati management, saying that the negotiations were still
\nunderway at the time, with several overseas financial
\ninstitutions offering low interest rates.<\/p>\n
Haryanto was reported by the Media Indonesia daily yesterday
\nto have ordered Garuda's president, Soepandi, to sack Ridwan, as
\nwell as Budhiarto Subroto, Amin Kahar and Syarifudin Iteroedin --
\nMerpati's directors of operation, finance and commerce
\nrespectively.<\/p>\n
Soepandi, unable to disobey the order, conveyed Haryanto's
\nrequest to the finance minister, who is the nominee shareholder
\nfor the government in all state companies.<\/p>\n
Minister of Finance Mar'ie Muhammad said yesterday that he
\nwould soon make a statement through his spokesman about the
\nmatter.<\/p>\n
\"Just wait for a press release from the public relations
\ndepartment of my ministry,\" Mar'ie said yesterday, as quoted by
\nAntara.<\/p>\n
Ridwan, who was appointed Merpati president in August 1992,
\nreplacing Frans H. Sumolang, said that he had been warned
\npreviously by Haryanto that he might lose his job.<\/p>\n
\"The minister has told me three times that I will lose my
\npost. So I fully realized the consequences of my public statement
\nabout the refusal to lease the CN-235-200 aircraft,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that it might be true that Merpati is the \"baby
\nsitter\" testing ground for IPTN's products, but added that he
\nalso has a responsibility to take care of the company's financial
\nsoundness.<\/p>\n
Merpati spokesman Tondo Widodo said yesterday that neither his
\noffice nor the public relations sections of Garuda or the
\nministry of transportation had yet received any official
\nnotification about Ridwan's replacement. (icn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ridwan-to-lose-his-position-at-merpati-1447893297",
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