Sutiyoso grilled for 3 hours over Ancolgate<\/p>\n
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Prosecutor's Office questioned City Governor Sutiyoso
\non Wednesday as a witness in a graft case related to a
\ncontroversial foreign trip involving city officials and
\ncouncillors.<\/p>\n
The governor was questioned for about three hours regarding
\nthe three suspects: councillors Tarmidi Suhardjo and Tarmidi Edy
\nSuwarno from Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and Ali
\nImron Hussein from United Development Party.<\/p>\n
City-owned PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol (PJA), spent Rp 2.7
\nbillion (US$270,000) while the city budget disbursed Rp 1.6
\nbillion (US$160,000) on an overseas trip to Australia, Japan and
\nCanada, which lasted for one week on Oct. 12, 2000.<\/p>\n
The suspects allegedly accepted double allowances (US$5,000)
\nfrom PJA and Rp 55 million from the budget) although they did not
\njoin the trip.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso, who was the president commissioner of PT PJA, told
\nreporters after the questioning, that he actually disagreed with
\nthe trip because the country was still in economic crisis.<\/p>\n
But the company disbursed the money, anyway.<\/p>\n
As for the money from the city budget, he said that he could
\nnot object because it had been allocated for the councillors.<\/p>\n
A total of 16 councillors and several city officials joined
\nthe so-called comparative study trip to the three countries as
\nPJA would develop a water city project in Ancol, North Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"Through this investigation, we are looking for (new)
\nsuspects,\" the prosecutor's office chief Muljohardjo said.<\/p>\n
It seemed, however, that Sutiyoso would not be implicated in
\nthe scandal.<\/p>\n
Muljohardjo defended Sutiyoso, saying the governor could not
\nreject the disbursement of Rp 1.6 billion fund from the city
\nbudget.<\/p>\n
Muljohardjo also said PJA's president Rushadi disbursed the
\nmoney for the trip without Sutiyoso's approval.<\/p>\n
Separately, city spokesman Muhayat admitted on Wednesday that
\nthe city secretary Fauzi Bowo had been scheduled to be questioned
\nas a witness on Thursday, but was postponed.<\/p>\n
Fauzi was believed to know that the trip was financed both by
\nPJA and the city budget.<\/p>\n
Muhayat said he feared that the case could be used to insult
\nFauzi, who is currently nominated by the Betawi Collective Body
\n(Bamus) as a candidate for the next gubernatorial election in
\nOctober.<\/p>\n
Muhayat said that the council's secretary, Moerdiman, handed
\nover the trip's proposal to Fauzi, on behalf of the governor, on
\nSept. 15, 2000. Fauzi approved it on Sept. 22, and the Rp 1.6
\nbillion fund was disbursed on Sept. 29.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, PJA proposed the trip to the governor on Oct. 6 and
\nSutiyoso, through his disposition letter on Oct. 10, asked them
\nto give second thoughts to the plan.<\/p>\n
\"But PJA had disbursed the money weeks before the fund from
\nthe city budget,\" Muhayat claimed, adding that Sutiyoso has
\ndismissed Rushadi earlier last year.<\/p>\n
Six low-rank employees who joined the trip were also
\ndismissed.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sutiyoso-grilled-for-3-hours-over-ancolgate-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}