Akbar refused to issue receipts: Witness

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Another cover-up attempt by corruption suspect Akbar Tandjung was revealed on Monday after a witness told a court hearing that the beleaguered Golkar chairman had refused to issue receipts for checks he had received from the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) in 1999.

Former Bulog financial bureau chief Yusnadi Suwarta said that Akbar took eight checks, for a total of Rp 20 billion, on April 20, 1999, from Achmad Ruskandar, then Bulog's deputy for financial affairs.

"When Pak Ruskandar asked for receipts for the checks, Pak Akbar said, 'later'," Yusnadi told a court hearing held at the Jakarta Fairground in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.

"I accompanied Pak Ruskandar to meet Pak Akbar at the Cabinet secretary's office ... Akbar examined the checks .... It was a brief meeting, lasting only about five or six minutes," he said.

Yusnadi's testimony corroborated Ruskandar's earlier statements that the disgraced Golkar chairman was reluctant to issue receipts for the first handover of two checks on March 2 and that receipts issued to Bulog were later retrieved by Akbar's staff.

However, Akbar disputed the testimony, insisting that Ruskandar had not asked for any receipt for the checks.

"I never said, 'later'," Akbar said.

The same court learned last week that Akbar and his lawyers tried to coerce another suspect, Rahardi Ramelan, to lie during a meeting held in October 2001 at Grand Mahakam hotel in South Jakarta.

Using a story fabricated by Akbar's camp, Rahardi was to tell state prosecutors that Akbar did not receive the money as the funds were given directly to the little-known Raudlatul Jannah Foundation. Rahardi reportedly rejected the proposal.

Akbar admitted the meeting with Rahardi and both lawyers, but denied allegations that he had tried to compel Rahardi to accept the scenario his camp had prepared.

"It was an ordinary meeting ... nothing important was discussed," he said Monday.

The trial was adjourned to May 6 to hear testimonies from Jakarta subdistrict officials regarding Suyanto, who allegedly cashed the checks at several banks in Jakarta by using a fake identification card.

The beleaguered Golkar chairman is currently on trial for alleged corruption involving Rp 40 billion of Bulog funds and could face up to 20 years in jail if found guilty.

He admitted last week that he had received funds, totaling Rp 40 billion, from Bulog to buy staple foodstuffs for distribution to those most affected by the economic crisis in 1999.

However many believe the money found its way into Golkar's coffers to bankroll the party's campaign in the 1999 general election.