'Time' report a slap on govt face<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Observers said on Monday that Time magazine's
\nreport on the Soeharto family's wealth was a \"slap on the
\ngovernment's face\" and urged Attorney General Andi M. Ghalib to
\nimmediately take follow-up action.<\/p>\n
\"The disclosure is quite a bombshell and what the government
\nshould do is invite the magazine to enlighten the government on
\nits findings,\" leading human rights campaigner Marzuki Darusman
\ntold The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
\"Although the figure (given by the magazine) may be
\nastronomical and almost unbelievable, I think what needs to be
\ndone is not to argue whether this is valid or not, but to get in
\ntouch with the magazine immediately,\" Marzuki, who is also deputy
\nchairman of the ruling Golkar party, added.<\/p>\n
The weekly discloses in its latest issue that former president
\nSoeharto and his children amassed a US$15 billion fortune during
\nhis 32-year rule.<\/p>\n
It says the Soehartos' fortune includes $9 billion in cash
\nthat was transferred from a bank in Switzerland to another bank
\nin Austria shortly after the former ruler was forced from office
\nin May last year.<\/p>\n
The magazine reported the Soeharto family's $15 billion wealth
\ncomprised cash, shares, corporate assets, real estate, jewelry
\nand fine arts -- including works by masters Affandi and Basoeki
\nAbdullah in the collection of Prabowo Subianto's wife Siti
\nHediati Hariyadi, the middle daughter known as \"Titiek\".<\/p>\n
\"This requires the government to take action as soon as
\npossible,\" Marzuki said, adding that failure to do so would
\nundermine the government's credibility.<\/p>\n
Inaction would also make it very difficult for the government
\n\"to convince the public that this is a government that should be
\ncontinuing the job in the future\".<\/p>\n
The controversial probe into Soeharto's wealth has dragged on
\nsince June last year. Legal experts and pro-reformists have
\naccused Habibie and Ghalib of deliberate foot-dragging.<\/p>\n
Time said some of Ghalib's staff members are not convinced the
\ninvestigation is serious. It quoted an official at the Attorney
\nGeneral's Office as saying that \"Ghalib is on a mission to
\nprotect Soeharto\".<\/p>\n
Soeharto asserted in a private television interview last year
\nthat he did not have a single cent in foreign banks and he
\nchallenged the government and the general public to trace
\nwhatever wealth he possessed overseas.<\/p>\n
In February Ghalib said the initial findings of an
\ninvestigation by the Attorney General's Office and the foreign
\naffairs ministry had failed to find any wealth or assets
\nbelonging to Soeharto abroad.<\/p>\n
\"(The disclosure) again amplified the limitation of the
\nAttorney General's Office and therefore it is high time that the
\ngovernment establish a separate commission to look into the
\nmatter,\" Marzuki said.<\/p>\n
Faisal Tadjuddin, the secretary-general of an anti-corruption
\ncampaign called the Movement of Concerned Citizens over State
\nAssets, said the magazine's findings was akin to \"a slap on
\nGhalib's face\", given that he had said Soeharto did not have any
\nforeign assets.<\/p>\n
Perception<\/p>\n
Teten Masduki of the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) said
\nthe latest revelation had strengthened public perception that the
\nAttorney General's Office had not been serious and was incapable
\nof doing its job.<\/p>\n
\"Ghalib should not be trusted anymore, and it is impossible
\nfor the Attorney General's Office to only rely on the foreign
\nministry to search for Soeharto's foreign assets which might have
\nalready been laundered,\" Teten told the Post.<\/p>\n
Teten, who advocates political solutions rather than legal
\nprocesses to end the controversial probe into Soeharto's alleged
\ncorruption, said the government should start thinking of
\nsoliciting foreign assistance in the matter.<\/p>\n
In March, Marzuki suggested the present government should not
\nforce itself to continue the probe, saying the complicated matter
\nwas far beyond its capacity.<\/p>\n
Juan Felix Tampubolon, one of Soeharto's lawyers, maintained
\nthat Soeharto had no assets abroad. He also spoke of the
\npossibility of filing a lawsuit against the magazine.<\/p>\n
\"The report is baseless, and if it is not proven we might file
\na lawsuit against Time,\" Juan told the Post.<\/p>\n
Opposition presidential candidate Amien Rais urged Soeharto's
\nlawyers to go ahead with the suit.<\/p>\n
He expressed belief Time would then provide data \"and then it
\nwould be even easier later to secure the return of most of the
\nmoney for the people of Indonesia\".<\/p>\n
Time's cover story titled \"Soeharto Inc.\" capped what the
\nmagazine claims to be the most comprehensive, four-month
\ninvestigation of the Soeharto family wealth, involving hundreds
\nof interviews by its correspondents in 11 countries.<\/p>\n
\"We still can not make any comment, because we have not
\nreceived a copy of the magazine yet, and we need to study the
\nvalidity of the report first before making any decision,\"
\nspokesman for the Attorney General's Office Soehandoyo said on
\nMonday. (byg)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/time-report-a-slap-on-govt-face-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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