Basuki's will officially disclosed by his lawyers

Basuki's will officially disclosed by his lawyers

JAKARTA (JP): Lawyers of the late painter Basuki Abdullah
officially disclosed the contents of his final will to the public
on Saturday, revealing that his Thai widow was left only a small
portion of his huge estate.

Siti Zaitun Noor told reporters on Saturday that the renowned
painter had secretly made a will just three months prior to his
death leaving many of his possessions to his Dutch daughter from
a previous marriage, Mrs. Saraswati Kouwenhouven.

The will states that Basuki's painting collection is to be
divided between Saraswati, the Indonesian government and his
daughter Cicilia Sidhawati, who is reportedly adopted.

Basuki also requested the establishment of a foundation in his
name which would oversee the creation of a Basuki Abdullah
museum. His house on Jl. Keuangan Raya, Cilandak, South Jakarta,
is entrusted to the government to be for that museum.

Basuki Abdullah was murdered in his house last November by
Amiruddin, alias Nanda, during a robbery attempt.

The South Jakarta court recently sentenced Nanda to a 15-year
prison term, while two other accomplices, Wahyudi Dasmat, the
painter's gardener, and Abdul Mukti were given 12 and 10 year
sentences respectively for involvement in the crime.

Though the criminal proceedings have ended, the shroud of
controversy surrounding the painter's death continues to linger.

Siti Noor revealed yesterday that Basuki's Thai widow, Nataya
Nareerat, is not considered his wife legally because their
marriage was never registered. She said that even the Indonesian
embassy in Bangkok has no record of their marriage.

"He (Basuki) told me before his death that he had never
obtained a marriage license or signed any sort of marriage
certificate," Siti said.

However, Nataya has countered this allegation, stating that
she has a marriage document written in the Thai language.

Siti went on to quote the painter as saying that the couple's
21-year old child, Cicilia, is an adopted daughter. "Pak Bas
(Basuki) repeated to me hundreds of times that she was neither
his genetic nor his step daughter."

Saraswati is the only natural daughter of Pak Basuki, Siti
said.

The will signed by Basuki mentions Cicilia as "a student
living at Jl. Keuangan" and identifies his Thai widow as "a
woman, Nataya Nareerat, Thai nationality, private sector,
temporarily living on Jl. Keuangan."

Siti explained that in three previous drafts she had written,
Basuki purposely crossed-out the sentence "my wife Nataya."

Basuki first met the former Miss Thailand runner-up in
Thailand in 1967 and was reportedly immediately captivated by her
charm.

In the will, Nataya was given only the contents of his two
houses and studio, such as furniture and electronic goods.

Wealth

Basuki's assets are estimated to reach over Rp 6 billion
(US$2.78 million), with his remaining 60 paintings worth between
Rp 25 million and Rp 300 million each.

Two houses on Jl. Keuangan and in Shangrila Indah housing
complex, Ciledug, Tangerang, are worth Rp 800 million and Rp 200
million respectively. The former will be used for a museum, while
the latter goes to Saraswati.

There is also his slide collection, which consists of some
1,000 slides of his paintings. A single copyright for one slide
is expected to run at about $3,000.

Allegations of discord between Basuki and Nataya began to
emerge during the trial in which it was established that they had
long slept in separate bedrooms, with witnesses portraying Nataya
as a domineering woman.

Siti Noor told reporters that Basuki wanted to have his will
opened 40 days after his death. This seemed odd in her opinion
since the customary time period is three months.

She said that Basuki was fearful that Nataya would take over
his assets if the contents of the will were not immediately made
known.

Further controversy has arisen since Prof. Fuad Hassan, the
former minister of education and culture, has refused to act as
executor of the will because he says that Basuki never informed
him that this was his wish.

According to Siti Noor she had been told by the deceased that
Fuad knew and agreed with his intentions and was thus named
executor in the will.

In the confusion following Basuki's death she was directed to
Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono who then proceeded to handle
the will.

However the follow-up to this has been very slow and Siti Noor
was compelled to take the matter to the South Jakarta district
court in order to establish Saraswati as the new executor of the
will.

Court proceedings on the case began last April and she expects
a final verdict this week. (mds)