Akbar wants Dakab funds to be returned to Golkar

JAKARTA (JP): Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung said billions of rupiah collected by the Dakab Foundation, established by former president Soeharto, should be returned to Golkar to finance the dominant party's activities.

Akbar, who is also minister/state secretary, said the funds could be returned to the state -- as some observers have demanded -- had they been collected through public policy.

The Dakab foundation was set up in July 1985 mainly to finance Golkar's social activities. Its assets total Rp 836.2 billion (US$65 million).

Akbar, who was elected party leader last month, asserted that the funds were raised from members and party supporters voluntarily, and therefore they should be returned to Golkar.

However, he said he would consider giving the funds to the public should the public prefer that.

According to Antara, a politician of the United Development Party (PPP) had said the funds should be returned to the public as they were allegedly raised through corrupt practices.

Former senior government officials, including former vice president Sudharmono, who currently run the foundation and three other organizations -- Amal Bakti Muslim Pancasila, Supersemar and Dharmais -- said in June they would not relinquish the funds to either Golkar or the government but would instead continue their various social projects.

Sudharmono, Soeharto's close friend, said the foundations were established by Soeharto in a private capacity and that it was irrelevant whether he was still in power or not.

He also claimed that the four foundations received funds on a voluntary basis and that the former president never tried to coerce donors.

Sudharmono, secretary of the Amal Bhakti foundation, even challenged people to file lawsuits if they were dissatisfied.

The four foundations' accounts are estimated to total Rp 2.63 trillion. (byg)