Amien refuses to name person behind document leak
Amien refuses to name person behind document leak
JAKARTA (JP): Amien Rais has refused to name a person he
called very knowledgeable of "the scenario" for the leaking of
classified documents charging Minister of Transportation Haryanto
Dhanutirto with corruption.
"I believe there's a person who knows well about the whole
scenario," the respected political observer informed The Jakarta
Post yesterday.
Amien said on Dec. 18 in Yogyakarta he received copies of the
documents -- reports by Inspector General for Development Kentot
Harseno to President Soeharto containing corruption charges
against Haryanto. However, Amien refused to divulge the identity
of the person who provided him with the documents.
"That person could become the starting point to trace the
person or persons responsible for the nationwide uproar over the
case," he said. "It would be unethical to reveal the person's
identity to the press."
Amien, who was widely reported to be privy to inside
information concerning the case, said he would be willing to
provide the information to any team established to investigate
the leak.
Despite the government's announcement clearing Haryanto of
corruption charges, the case is by no means closed. Comments are
still pouring in on it, especially in relation to the question of
the person or persons responsible for the leaking of Kentot's
reports to the public.
One of the latest comments came from the Forum for Development
and International Studies who demanded that the person
responsible for the leak be held accountable. The forum also
called the documents slanderous, full of hatred and provocative.
Such reports could be used by any party as a tool to topple
their political adversaries rather than as a means to inform
President Soeharto of irregularities, the forum's statement said.
Both the forum's chairman, Fadli Zon, and Amien Rais
criticized Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono for "creating new
problems" because of his flimsy statements on the issue.
"The way he delivered the information invited a big question;
namely, how come the person or persons responsible for the leak
were not pursued," Amien said. "Flimsy information like that can
become a source of new political tensions."
President Soeharto, in a statement delivered by Moerdiono,
cleared Haryanto of corruption charges. Moerdiono also said that
Haryanto was guilty of "administrative mistakes" and had
reimbursed state funds he used for personal trips.
Amien, who, like Haryanto, is a leading member of the
influential Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals
(ICMI), called the debacle an unprecedented political ploy.
Political game
"The end of last year witnessed a new political game which has
never happened before, and that is the leaking of state documents
in order to hit at a political opponent," he said.
"The intentional leaking of the so-called administrative
mistakes that Haryanto allegedly conducted was a new, dangerous
modus operandi," he said.
Mudslinging among high-level government officials, whether
delivered in plain words or wrapped in "toxic, obscure language",
can erode the government's authority, he said.
The "political drama" which directly or indirectly involved
Kentot, Haryanto, Moerdiono and even Vice President Try Sutrisno
has been "a non-educative political spectacle", he said.
Amien also said that "the moral lesson" that should be learned
from the political drama was the fact that Indonesia still
enforces laws and fights corruption discriminately.
"The interests of corps or groups still hamper the launching
of the investigation needed to trace the persons who leaked the
classified state documents," he said.
A 1977 law on archives stipulates a maximum penalty of life
imprisonment for people found guilty of intentionally revealing
the contents of classified documents to a third party.
Meanwhile, the Antara news agency reported that three state-
owned companies under the Ministry of Transportation received a
"clean" classification from the Development and Finance Control
Board in 1994.
Three other companies received qualified opinions from the
state-owned audit agency. (swe/har)