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)