Akbar's detention schocks Golkar Party

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In the wake of mounting public pressure, the Attorney General's Office detained House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung over graft allegations on Thursday.

Akbar, who chairs the Golkar Party, was supposed to be incarcerated at Salemba penitentiary in Central Jakarta, but was moved to a cell in the Attorney General's Office compound for security reasons, the office's spokesman Barman Zahir said.

"The detention is aimed at expediting the investigation into Akbar," Barman told a media conference.

Controversy had shrouded the alleged scam, in which Akbar was alleged to have misused Rp 40 billion of funds belonging to the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) for food for the poor in 1999. However, no arrest nor travel ban were imposed on him even after investigators could not find that food distribution had been carried out.

Akbar was minister/state secretary when the program was said to have taken place.

The investigation had also raised eyebrows as another suspect in the case, the former Bulog chairman and minister of trade and industry, was detained at the Cipinang penitentiary.

Also detained on Thursday night were two other suspects, Dadang Sukandar, chairman of the Raudatul Jannah Foundation which Akbar had picked to conduct the charity program, and contractor of the project Winfried Simatupang.

One of Akbar's confidants, Hafiz Zawawi, said Akbar had signed the dossiers relating to his arrest at 11 p.m., after around six hours of negotiation.

"Akbar has complied with the law and has asked his party executives, in their legal efforts, to observe the law and refrain from tarnishing the party's image," Hafiz, a Golkar legislator, said.

Hafiz's statement contradicted the fact that Akbar had refused to sign the documents just after the questioning ended earlier in the afternoon.

An upset-looking Akbar canceled a media conference and tried to drive away with his bodyguards, one of them asking an employee of the Attorney General's Office to open the gate.

The compound gate was blocked by military police trucks and Akbar returned to the Attorney General's Office.

Due to the apparent resistance, security troops prevented both employees of the office and outsiders from leaving or entering the compound.

During the negotiations, 120 members of the Golkar faction at the House offered their personal guarantee to persuade the Attorney General's Office to place Akbar under city or house arrest.

Akbar reportedly called President Megawati Soekarnoputri to seek her help.

One of Akbar's lawyers, Tommy Sihotang, denied the reports and said no deal had been made between his client and the President.

He said Akbar did not perceive any political motive behind his arrest.

The arrest was made hours after the House had agreed to delay until March 18 a vote to decide on whether a special committee of inquiry into Akbar's role in the scandal should be formed.

Akbar's detention also came a day after four members of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) met with party chairwoman Megawati, who hinted at her approval of Akbar's detention.

"Megawati said that the Attorney General must not be discriminatory in enforcing the law. Everybody should be treated equally before the law," one of the legislators, Dwi Riya Latifa, told The Jakarta Post.

Latifa, along with Amien Aryoso, Panda Nababan and Agustin Teras Narang, went to Megawati's residence on Jl. Teuku Umar on Wednesday night to submit the draft of the PDI Perjuangan faction's stance to be presented at the House plenary session.

Megawati has repeatedly revealed her preference for a legal process rather than a political process in the House, which could lead to a no-confidence vote against Akbar.

Despite his status as a suspect in the scam, Akbar has refused to step down from his position as the speaker of the House, one of the highest state institutions in the country. He has argued that in compliance with the principle in Indonesia of presuming someone to be innocent, being a suspect does not mean he is proven guilty.

Golkar, under Akbar's leadership, has also dismissed the demand for Akbar's resignation, saying that there are no rules or regulations stipulating that being a suspect should prevent an official from retaining his post.

Progress of Akbar's graft case

Oct. 8, 2001: Akbar implicated in a Rp 54.6 billion Bulog fund scandal

Jan. 7, 2002: Akbar declared a suspect

Feb. 5, 2002: Akbar's first questioning as a suspect

Feb. 11, 2002: Akbar's second questioning

March 7, 2002: Akbar's third questioning, Akbar detained at the Attorney General's Office.