Attorney general investigated in alleged corruption probe
Attorney general investigated in alleged corruption probe
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Public Servants' Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN) began on
Wednesday its probe into allegations of corruption involving
Attorney General M.A. Rachman, who is under intense pressure to
resign over the case.
His eldest daughter Chairunnisa was questioned for three hours
starting at 10 a.m. by a three-member team of the commission over
the ownership of a mansion in the upmarket Graha Cinere housing
complex in Depok, West Java.
Wednesday's questioning followed findings by KPKPN, which
accused Rachman of concealing some of his assets in his wealth
report presented to the commission in July of last year.
Speaking to journalists after the inquiry, Chairunnisa said
she provided ownership documents for the house to the team of
auditors who asked her to clarify them.
The mansion was precluded from the attorney general's wealth
report, which the auditors said contained discrepancies.
Chairunnisa confirmed that the house, worth some Rp 5 billion
(US$561,000), was still legally hers, even though she said she
sold it to businessman Hussien Tanoto for only Rp 950 million
last year to buy some medical equipment that she needed to run a
dental clinic.
She said her father bought the mansion from one of his
subordinates at the Attorney General's Office in 1999 and
transferred it into her name one year later.
It remains unclear, however, why the transfer of ownership
took place just before Rachman submitted his wealth report to
KPKPN.
Asked how Rachman was able to afford a luxury home,
Chairunnisa said her father purchased it with the monetary gifts
given to her younger sister, Cut Mutia Rahmi, when she was
married on Oct. 22, 1999.
Rachman was a deputy attorney general of general crimes in
1999, and had a salary of Rp 5 million per month.
Chairunnisa was accompanied by her lawyer Wawan Iriawan, from
Wiranto & Co. Attorneys at Law office, during the interrogation
at KPKPN headquarters on Jl. Juanda in Central Jakarta.
Wiranto, a former Indonesian Military (TNI) chief accused of
being involved in widespread human rights abuses across the
country, is reportedly a close friend of Rachman's.
Public demand continued to mount on Wednesday for Rachman,
derided for failing to fight major graft cases, to step down.
Protesters and critics from various sectors urged Megawati to
dismiss him if she was serious about eradicating corruption.
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Amien Rais
doubted that Megawati would heed the pressure on her to dismiss
the attorney general.
"It is almost impossible for Megawati to do that. Only God
knows," he said, adding that he was pessimistic that Rachman
would resign.
Amien argued that none of the country's senior officials were
willing to resign even though they had been convicted by the
courts. He was apparently referring to House Speaker Akbar
Tandjung, who was found guilty of graft but remains in power.
"I don't know what to say because none of the government's
senior officials are willing to step down. To be honest, I'm
pessimistic about their willingness to resign," he said.
Despite mounting pressure against Rachman, several senior
legislators, mostly from Akbar's Golkar Party, appear to be
backing him to retain his post.
Akbar's close ally, Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, the deputy
chairman of House Commission II for legal affairs, said there was
not enough evidence to remove Rachman.
"The attorney general was just clarifying his wealth report
and that cannot be considered as involvement in any corruption
case," Ferry said after a meeting with Megawati on Wednesday.
He said that the public should not jump to any conclusions by
urging the attorney general to resign until hard evidence against
him was found.
"We understand that it is the prerogative of the President to
replace him (Rachman), but Commission II believes that it is too
soon to dismiss him without solid evidence," Ferry said.