AGO to question Akbar, Wiranto on Wednesday
AGO to question Akbar, Wiranto on Wednesday
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Attorney General's Office on Friday issued summonses for
House of Representatives' Speaker Akbar Tandjung and former
military chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto to appear at the office on
Wednesday for questioning in relation to a graft investigation.
"The Attorney General's Office today (Friday) served summonses
on Akbar Tandjung and former defense minister and Indonesian
Military commander Wiranto to appear at the office on Wednesday
for questioning as witnesses over the use of Bulog non-budgetary
funds," spokesman Muljohardjo said on Friday evening.
Muljohardjo said Wiranto was expected to arrive at the office
for questioning at 9.00 a.m., while Wiranto was slated to arrive
at 2.00 p.m.
Muljohardjo said that Akbar and Wiranto would be questioned
over the suspected misuse of Rp 54 billion of State Logistics
Agency (Bulog) funds which were allegedly disbursed to them in
1999.
The summons for Akbar, who is protected by legislatorial
immunity, was only issued after the approval of President
Megawati Soekarnoputri was obtained for the Attorney General's
Office to question him over the matter.
Akbar, however, said in Jakarta that he had not received the
summons.
"When I receive the summons from the Attorney General's
Office, I will be ready (for questioning). But I haven't received
it yet," he claimed.
The House speaker said he had retained lawyers Hotman
Sitompoel, Lawrence Siburian and Ruhut Sitompul to assist him in
the case.
Earlier in the day, Attorney General AR Rachman said in the
North Sumatra capital of Medan that Akbar would be questioned as
a witness. But, he added that Akbar's status could be changed to
that of a suspect if there was sufficient evidence that he
misused the funds.
"Whether he will be named as suspect or not will depend on the
results of our investigation. But we have prima facie evidence,
including information from the former Bulog chief, Rahardi
Ramelan," he added.
According to the testimony given by Rahardi, already a suspect
in the Rp 54 billion graft case, Akbar received Rp 40 billion out
of a total of Rp 50 billion when he was the state secretary under
former president BJ Habibie.
Akbar, who is also chairman of the Golkar Party, the second
largest party in the legislature, has been accused of unlawfully
using the funds for Golkar Party electioneering purposes. He has,
however, denied the allegation saying that he channeled the money
into the government's social safety net program (JPS).
The other Rp 10 billion allegedly went to Wiranto who
reportedly used the money to cover the cost of the civilian
security militia (Pamswakarsa) he was sponsoring.
The remaining Rp 4 billion was used to pay compensation for
the cancellation of the 1996 land swap deal between Bulog and
wholesale firm PT Goro Batara Sakti.
The limelight is now firmly focused on Akbar, rather than
Habibie or Wiranto.
Akbar has come under pressure from various parties, including
from inside his own party, to quit his positions in the party and
the House.
Some 40 rival politicians in the House have also filed a
motion urging the House to establish a special committee to
investigate the suspected misuse of the Bulog funds.
The House during its plenary session tasked the House steering
committee to decide whether such an investigative committee
should be established or not.