Yet another row<\/p>\n
As controversy upon controversy continues to rock Jakarta's
\npolitical scene with no sign of abating, the big question now
\nseems to be no longer when all this is going to stop, but how.<\/p>\n
Certainly, the President of the Republic discreetly meeting
\nwith a convicted felon -- former president Soeharto's youngest
\nson Hutomo \"Tommy\" Mandala Putra, who has been sentenced to 18
\nmonths in prison for corruption -- is highly irregular, to say
\nthe least, even if a year under the Abdurrahman Wahid presidency
\nhas taught Indonesians to expect not only the unexpected, but the
\ninconceivable.<\/p>\n
Was the meeting so vital to the nation? If so, why the hush-
\nhush? The President only admitted to the meeting after it was
\nleaked in the media. Tommy is known to have applied for a
\npresidential pardon, which the President said he would reject.
\nThen there was talk about the possibility of the President
\ngranting Tommy his request after all, but on condition that he
\n\"donate\" some of the Soeharto family's wealth that is believed to
\nhave been stashed away in foreign banks, to the nation.<\/p>\n
On this the government has remained silent. Still one might
\npresume that the talks between the President and Tommy were to
\nexamine that possibility. Indonesians recall how some time ago
\nthe President assigned the Coordinating Minister for Political,
\nSocial and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono the task of
\nnegotiating with the ex-dictator's children for the return of
\nsome of the wealth allegedly taken by the Soeharto family.
\nNothing came of those negotiations as far as is known.<\/p>\n
In the minds of Indonesians there is little doubt that such
\nwealth exists. Geoff Hiscock, the international business editor
\nof The Australian newspaper, for example, in his book Asia's New
\nWealth Club estimates the Soeharto family's wealth to stand at
\nUS$2.2 billion at present -- downsized from $6.6 billion before
\nthe onset of the financial crisis in 1997.<\/p>\n
\"... the ambitious sons and daughters of President Soeharto
\nhad built billion-dollar empires in property, banking, industry,
\ntelecoms, media, and transport in the 1980s and 1990s, the like
\nof which had never been seen in Indonesia,\" Hiscock writes.<\/p>\n
As speculation about the covert meeting has grown, neither the
\ngovernment nor the President's office has presented an
\nexplanation to clear up the befuddlement, whereas a speedy
\nclarification could have prevented the issue from becoming
\ncontroversial.<\/p>\n
As things are, it is difficult to escape the impression that
\nsomething fishy might be going on involving the President.
\nWhether that will in the future be proven true or not, the
\nconsequences could be disastrous for the nation, already hit by
\nthe worst economic crisis it has ever experienced.<\/p>\n
As for Abdurrahman Wahid, this unfortunate episode could
\nprovide ammunition for his political adversaries to make life
\neven more difficult for the beleaguered President, even to the
\npoint of turning impeachment into a real possibility.<\/p>\n
The country's highest policymaking body, the People's
\nConsultative Assembly (MPR), in one of its decrees, has
\ninstructed the President to bring to court all those who are
\nsuspected of having committed serious crimes of corruption,
\ncollusion or nepotism in the past. Violation of an MPR decree can
\npush the Assembly toward holding a Special Session to impeach the
\nPresident.<\/p>\n
That would be all Indonesians need. In the end, the ones to
\nsuffer the most would not be Abdurrahman Wahid, but the people of
\nIndonesia.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/yet-another-row-1447899208",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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