Angry mobs attacks reform-minded tycoon's house
JAKARTA (JP): Oil tycoon Arifin Panigoro was shocked and surprised when a group of 100 angry people attacked his residence in South Jakarta on Friday.
The mob, claiming to be members of the People Saver Front, pelted stones at the businessman's luxury property on Jl. Jenggala, leaving windows of the house and Arifin's two cars, including a Mercedes-Benz sedan, smashed.
Arifin, owner of the widely diversified Medco Group which includes the country's biggest oil and gas company Medco Energi Corporation, was at the house when the early afternoon incident occurred.
"I have to admit that I was frightened. But it's not because of my (ruined) cars," Arifin told a media conference at the site a few hours after the sudden attack.
"There must be someone who incited these people," he added, giving no further explanation.
According to his secretary, Mutazar, the house is normally empty as Arifin, his wife Raisis and their two children spend most of their time at the family's other residence in Cilandak, also in South Jakarta.
Mutazar said Raisis and the children were not at the Jenggala house during the attack.
Arifin said the attackers arrived in front of his house at 1:10 p.m. in four packed Kopaja minivans.
Carrying banners, some of the vandals started to yell and throw stones at Arifin's house and cars, he recalled.
"Some of the banners read things like 'Hang Arifin' and 'Arifin, traitor of the country'," said the tycoon, who claimed to have financially assisted the food distribution for the thousands of students who staged massive antigovernment rallies here in May.
Demands
About one and a half hours later the startled businessman decided to invite representatives of the protesters inside his house for talks.
The group sent three people, later identified as Slamet Riady, Muslim Ardi and Arifin, all from Warakas, North Jakarta, to talk with the host.
"During the brief meeting, there was no dialog. They just wanted to convey their demands: that I stop financing the student demonstrations and the publication of anti-(President) B.J. Habibie circulars," Arifin said.
The businessman, who is also chairman of the Indonesian Engineers Association (PII) for the 1994/1999 period, denied his alleged role in the publishing and distribution of such anti- Habibie materials.
"I had nothing to do with it at all," he told the media.
Arifin admitted that he, together with some of his colleagues, donated a total of 30,000 meal boxes per day to the protesting students and Forkot (City Forum) activists during the massive May antigovernment rallies.
"It's just the way we showed our care (for the students and activists)," he said without naming the other donators.
According to a police intelligence officer who followed the angry mob from the Al-Azhar mosque, one of the attackers snatched a wristwatch from student Andri of SMA Al-Azhar high school shortly before they headed to Arifin's residence.
"I thought these men were heading to the House of Representatives (DPR) building for a rally," said the officer, who asked for anonymity.
Arifin became known as one of the country's leading government critics after he was questioned by the police in connection with an alleged conspiracy to disrupt national stability following his attendance at a discussion at the Radisson Hotel in Yogyakarta on Feb. 5.
Arifin, along with dozens of other leading critics, jointly established the Majelis Amanah Rakyat (Council for People's Mandate), which strongly demanded then president Soeharto resign a week before he stepped down on May 21. (emf/bsr)