Attorney general continues transport ministry probe
Attorney general continues transport ministry probe
JAKARTA (JP): Attorney General Singgih said his office is still investigating the financial misdeeds reported to have occurred at the Ministry of Transportation.
Although the government cleared Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto of corruption charges on Tuesday, the Attorney General office continues its investigation into alleged irregularities at the ministry.
"We are continuing. We're now examining the reports of irregularities from the Development and Finance Control Board," Singgih told reporters before a plenary cabinet meeting yesterday.
Quoting Article 44 of the Presidential Decree on the function of the control board, Singgih said that if the board finds indications of criminal acts during its examination of state institutions' budgets, it has to report them to the Attorney General's Office.
"If there are suspicions of criminal acts, there should certainly be a process to prove them," he said. He said this applies to any irregularities reported at any state institution.
Earlier this week, President Soeharto declared the case closed on allegations of misappropriation of funds leveled at Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto.
Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono announced on Tuesday that an investigation into the allegations found that "administrative mistakes".
Moerdiono said there was no evidence that Haryanto has misused funds belonging to state enterprises. However, the minister has been required to reimburse the state for funds used to pay for his family's overseas trips.
The charges came to the surface when reports by Inspector General of Development Kentot Harseno to President Soeharto alleging irregularities at the Ministry of Transportation were leaked to the press and the public.
Closed
"That's another question entirely," Singgih said when reporters asked him for comments on President Soeharto's decision, and whether Haryanto's case could be considered a criminal one. "The case is considered closed, so it's closed."
Singgih said that Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono is still investigating how the classified documents were leaked.
In a related event, a group of Moslem students demonstrated yesterday outside of the Attorney General's Office, calling for an investigation into Kentot Harseno in relation to the leakage of state documents.
Some 20 placard-waving members of the Communication Forum for Jakarta Moslem Students also demanded that the Attorney General totally clear the name of Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto.
"Bring the slanderer to court!" said one of the placards. The youths also unfurled banners, including one which quoted a Koranic verse that says "Truth has arrived and Falsehood perished".
"We have data that convince us that Haryanto is clean and that the reports by Kentot on his alleged financial misdeeds were absolutely unfounded," Ridwan Saleh, one of the protesters, told The Jakarta Post.
Three of the students, Wakil Kamal, Arif Jatnika and Ahmad Dayan Lubis, met with Gatot Hendarto of the Attorney General's Office to state their demands.
Many observers have said the case should not be considered closed, with some calling for the matter to be cleared up in a court of law given the strong media publicity this affair has generated.
The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), for instance, questioned how the investigation found irregularities, including in the way Haryanto's office awarded government contracts, yet reached a conclusion that cleared the minister of all charges.
The Institute for the Defense of Human Rights said yesterday the case should be resolved through open, legal procedures rather than through a political approach.
"It's unfortunate that other factors and the public's quest for justice are neglected when it comes to corruption by government officials," the institute said. (swe/byi)