Something's wrong with Raudlatul Jannah<\/p>\n
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Witnesses confirmed on Monday irregularities found in the
\nestablishment of Raudlatul Jannah, an Islamic foundation
\nappointed to organize a fictitious charity project in 1999.<\/p>\n
Most of the eight witnesses testified before the panel of
\njudges, which tried the three defendants in the Rp 40 billion
\n(US$4 million) corruption scandal involving funds of the State
\nLogistics Agency (Bulog). They were Golkar Party chairman Akbar
\nTandjung, the Foundation's chairman Dadang Sukandar and Winfried
\nSimatupang, a contractor hired for the project. The witnesses
\ntestified that unusual procedures were found in the processing of
\ndocuments for the establishment of the foundation.<\/p>\n
Public Notary Kartono told the Central Jakarta District Court
\njudges that he had certified the foundation's notarial document
\non Dec. 10, 1997, when he still resided in Subang, West Java,
\nwhile the office of the foundation and the residences of all of
\nits 10 founding members were located in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
He said the foundation had started with merely Rp 10 million
\nof capital with a mission \"to help the government in social
\naffairs, such as donating aid to people suffering from natural
\ndisasters or to help build mosques\". The foundation was granted
\nthe authority to disburse Rp 40 billion-worth of government-
\nsponsored funds in the social safety net (JPS) program.<\/p>\n
On April 4, 2001, Dadang -- then Kartono's colleague in the
\nBangun Cipta real estate developer -- witnessed the changing of a
\ndocument based on the results of a meeting at which most members
\nof the foundation's board of management had resigned.<\/p>\n
But head of Petojo Selatan subdistrict in Central Jakarta Nur
\nZein denied that the meeting, held at his office, had discussed
\nthe change of the foundation's name or the resignation of the
\nboard's members.<\/p>\n
The panel of judges also questioned the credibility of the
\nfoundation's vice chairman, the late Dadi Suryadi, who was
\nassigned to become the project's chief officer.<\/p>\n
Other witnesses, including Dadi's brother Supriyanto, said the
\nso-called chief project officer was a driver for a reputable
\nJakarta-based taxi company and was never known to have been
\ninvolved in other activities, including being a member of the
\nfoundation.<\/p>\n
The witnesses also said that it was Akbar who had appointed
\nthe foundation to run the project after listening to Dadang and
\nWinfried's presentation at his office.<\/p>\n
The judges adjourned the trial until next Monday, saying that
\nformer president B.J. Habibie, who had given instructions for the
\nimplementation of the social project, was scheduled to testify in
\ncourt as a witness.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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