Attorney general urged to go after Ginandjar
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Corruption watchdogs urged on Sunday new Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh to review the decisions taken by his predecessor to halt probes into high-profile corruption cases, including one against Regional Representatives Council (DPD) speaker Ginandjar Kartasasmita.
Lucky Djani of the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) said the reasons behind the decisions by Attorney General M.A. Rachman to stop the probe into the Ginandjar case and several other high- profile scams were not transparent and confused the public.
"A letter to stop an investigation into the Ginandjar case was signed on Oct. 12, while the Attorney General's Office (AGO) later told the public that it decided to halt it on Oct. 23, just three days after the new attorney general was sworn in. It shows the AGO has deliberately covered up the case," Lucky told The Jakarta Post.
He argued that the letter signed by the Deputy Attorney General for special crimes Sudhono Iswahyudi stated that there was insufficient evidence to continue the investigation, but failed to detail what evidence the AGO had found and what it needed.
Ginandjar was accused of marking up the technical assistance contract (TAC) for the Balongan oil refinery in Indramayu, West Java, causing the state to lose some US$24.8 million, when he served as mines and energy minister.
Lucky said findings by the ICW showed the project was marked up to benefit several people. It was also unclear whether the expensive project had ever been carried out.
The late Feisal Abda'oe, a former state-owned Pertamina director and Praptono H. Tjitrohupojo, director of PT Untraindo Petrogas, were also declared suspects in the case.
Ginandjar and Faisal had been detained for questioning in 2001 but the AGO later released them, and declared the case closed due to lack of evidence.
In mid-2002, the Balongan case was reopened but a few months later Faisal died. As Ginandjar was an active military officer at the time of the alleged crime, he first had to be investigated by the military, hampering prosecutors' efforts to question him.
Emmy Hafild of the Berlin-based Transparency International (TI) said the decision to stop the Ginandjar case was clearly inappropriate, and the AGO should reopen it immediately.
"Although President (Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono) has pledged to prioritize the fight against corruption, and the new attorney general has vowed to review all closed cases, we need action, not just promises. The Ginandjar case will be a test for them," Emmy told the Post.
She urged the AGO to also review all other high-profile graft cases it had closed without clear reasons.
Prosecutors have stopped investigating nine suspects in the embezzlement of the Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support (BLBI) fund, which caused an estimated Rp 15 trillion in state losses.
The freed suspects include tycoon Sjamsul Nursalim who was reportedly held responsible for about Rp 10.1 trillion (US$1.1 billion) of the BLBI losses.
Another high-profile graft case allegedly involved former President Soeharto.
Prosecutors have said they were unable to take Soeharto to court as his team of doctors claim he is too ill to stand trial. However, the former dictator looked healthy attending several public functions recently and has met with several former leaders including former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohammad.
Rudi Satrio, a legal expert from the University of Indonesia, backed the calls for the AGO to resume investigations into all cases that were of public concern.
The prosecutors had to actively seek more evidence against the suspects for trials. "According to the law, the AGO can open the cases at any time. It just a matter of its willingness. The public can help by submitting more data to them," he said.