Akbar has yet to be declared a suspect: AG
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Prosecutors probing the 1999 graft scandal allegedly involving the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Akbar Tandjung, say they have yet to declare the former state secretary a suspect.
"We still have to examine (former president B.J.) Habibie's testimony, as well as other witnesses, as they gave such contradictory testimonies," prosecutor Manaf Djubaedi told reporters on Friday.
"Pak Habibie said Pak Akbar had never made any report progress over the project to him, while the later said he had made a verbal report to Habibie," Manaf said.
The case revolves around an instruction from Habibie to Akbar prior to the June 1999 elections, to dispose of Rp 40 billion out of Rp 54.6 billion for the poor using State Logistic Agency (Bulog) funds.
The two possible suspects have exchanged barbs over evidence this week.
Manaf, however, refused to say whether he would summon Akbar, who is also the Golkar party chairman, for a third time in light of Habibie's testimony, saying that the prosecutors would need to "further analyze" the evidence.
The main suspect in the case was Rahardi Ramelan who was the head of Bulog at that time. Akbar's possible involvement in the scandal surfaced in October and he had made a number of contradictory statements about his involvement.
Since then there have been mounting calls for him to resign as House speaker.
Manif, when asked whether the evidence might be adequate since both Habibie and Akbar had never referred to any 'written report' about the case, said: "Let us make further analysis prior to concluding our investigation."
Manaf, along with prosecutor Ahmad Santoso, spent two days questioning Habibie in Germany from Dec. 11 to 12. Habibie said he could not come home because he was tending his sick wife.
A human rights activist has criticized the Attorney General's Office (AGO) for sending prosecutors to Germany.
"The one who is sick is his wife. Can't somebody tend her while Habibie comes to Indonesia to explain about the Bulog case?" Bambang Widjojanto, a former chairman of the Legal Aid Foundation, was quoted by Kompas as saying.
He said Habibie's wife's illness was a mere excuse and that the AGO had applied the law unequally.
"Is it because Habibie is a former president that the Office opted to go to Germany to question him?" he asked.
Bambang said he wondered what would happen if anyone else asked to be treated the same way.
"Should the Office reject such a request that would be discrimination before the law," he said.
Bambang was also skeptical about the validity of the questioning.
"What if the testimony given by Habibie under oath was denied by Akbar?" he asked. "That would jeopardize the whole legal process to seek the truth."
The case has implicated a number of top officials. During the questioning in Hamburg, Habibie reportedly admitted to issuing a recommendation to Akbar to use Rp 40 billion out of Rp 54.6 billion for a food-for-the-poor program. The remaining Rp 10 billion was used by former armed forces chief General Wiranto to set up a civilian militia in East Timor. The remaining Rp 4.6 billion was used for the cancellation of a land-swap deal between Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra's PT Goro Batara Sakti and Bulog.
Like Haryono Suyono, the former coordinating minister for social welfare and poverty, Habibie also said that he had never heard of the Raudlatul Jannah Islamic Foundation, as well as its chairman Dadang Sukandar.
Akbar earlier claimed that Dadang had been the contractor who helped him distribute the food for the poor.
Habibie said he had never received a report about the project until he stepped down in August 1999, a statement supported by former minister of justice Muladi who replaced Akbar as state secretary in May 1999.
Earlier, Attorney General M.A. Rachman said that the Office's random check in several regions showed that such a project as claimed by Akbar had never taken place.