Akbar finally quizzed by AGO as Bulog suspect

Akbar finally quizzed by AGO as Bulog suspect

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Nothing has changed for House of Representatives Speaker Akbar
Tandjung's huge corruption case, except his status, as he stuck to
his earlier account on Tuesday that the the Rp 40 billion belonging
to the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) had been used to provide food
for the poor in five Javanese provinces in 1999.

In his first questioning session as a suspect in the Bulog
corruption investigation, Akbar was grilled for over five hours
to verify the state prosecutors' random field checks in five
provinces. However nobody in those regions could confirm that the
food had actually been distributed to anybody between March and
October of 1999 by the Raudlatul Jannah Foundation, a virtually
unknown organization apparently handpicked by Akbar to carry out
the program.

"I was asked by the investigators whether I was sticking by my
earlier statements during the first two quiz sessions, and my
answer was yes," Akbar, accompanied by friends and lawyers, told
reporters one hour after the session ended at 3 p.m.

Akbar was questioned twice as a witness on Oct. 31 and Nov. 22
last year.

Attorney General's Office spokesman Barman Zahir said
afterwards that Akbar claimed that the foundation had given him
reports about the food distribution.

This, alone, seemed to raise further questions because the
foundation's chairman Dadang Sukandar earlier claimed that Akbar
had never asked him to provide any reports for the project.

"To verify Akbar's account the investigators will extend their
field checks to small villages and not only at the regency
administration or subdistrict administrations as they did
earlier," Barman said.

Two other suspects in the case, Dadang, along with one of his
contractors on the alleged project Winfried Simatupang, were also
questioned on Tuesday.

The three of them will again be questioned on Feb. 11.

Akbar's case is part of a Rp 54.6 billion graft case in which
former Bulog chief Rahardi Ramelan is the prime suspect.

Akbar claimed that he only carried out orders from then
president B.J. Habibie.

The project was supposedly carried out to minimize social
unrest during the economic crisis. But many have suspected, due
to the timing, that the money had been misused by the Golkar
Party, which Akbar chairs, to finance its campaign for the 1999
general elections.

Reports also revealed that the money was channeled to the
accounts of several Golkar executives as well as to some other
political parties contesting the elections, with the exception of
the People's Democratic Party (PRD).

Investigators had revealed that Akbar claimed that he never
knew the two other suspects before the project was carried out.
Akbar said that he first met Dadang when the latter made a
proposal for such a project on Feb. 15, 1999, and three days
later brought Winfried to his office to discuss the food
distribution plan.

Dadang, who was close to Golkar's treasurer M.S. Hidayat,
claimed that he had good business contacts, but it still did not
explain how he could be well-prepared for a food distribution
project -- which was entrusted to his foundation without
considering any other groups -- five days after a closed-door
meeting between the President and several of his aides, including
Akbar, on Feb. 10, 1999.

While clearly receiving gentler treatment than other suspects,
Akbar, who has not been slapped with a travel ban, said on
Tuesday he would leave for Mecca for a haj pilgrimage on Feb. 14,
and expressed hope that further questioning would not interfere
with his schedule for the trip to the holy land.

Tuesday's questioning looked for all the world like there was
some subtle intimidation being applied by Golkar as dozens of
high-ranking party functionaries arrived an hour before Akbar and
then waited just outside the door of the questioning room as
their leader was being grilled.

The executives, including Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, Mahadi
Sinambela, Ade Komaruddin, Bomer Pasaribu, Akil Muchtar, Agung
Laksono and Daryatmo Mardiyanto, said they were there only "to
give Abang (brother) our moral support".