Businessman clarifies 'misleading' reports
Tony Hotland Jakarta
A North Sumatra businessman spoke out on Thursday against news reports about a recent district court verdict he won against British agricultural group Rowe Evans that he said unfairly pictured him in a bad light.
"I am upset because the news reports are imbalanced and seem to point to me as someone who could endanger foreign investment in the country instead of seeing the big picture," Rahmat Shah said.
He said he was concerned these "misleading" news reports could influence the North Sumatra High Court, which will hear the case on appeal, although he said the Medan District Court consulted with the high court before issuing its verdict.
Rahmat was referring to news reports about his legal dispute with PT Pangkatan Indonesia, a plantation company owned by Rowe Evans.
His relationship with the company began in March 2002 when he sold 80 percent of his shares in 1,813.4-hectare rubber plantation PT Sembada Sennah Maju to Mathew Adams, who claimed to be the president of Pangkatan. The transaction was worth US$3.26 million.
A year after the purchase, it came to light that Adams was not the president of Pangkatan, but was instead a director at PT Tolan Tiga Indonesia, another Rowe Evans company.
It also turned out that Adams did not have the required license from the North Sumatra Capital Investment Coordinating Board to invest in a local company.
Rahmat said these facts made the agreement invalid, but admitted that the sale had been largely based on trust instead of sufficient research about Adams or Pangkatan.
He also demanded Pangkatan return the 80 percent shares in the plantation company following frequent demonstrations by employees over Adams' policies and the company's failure to make good on some early commitments, such as repairing facilities.
The Medan District Court ruled on May 12 that Pangkatan had to return the 80 percent shares and management of the plantation company to Rahmat. It also ruled that Rahmat had to return the money for the shares.
Rowe Evans has denied all of Rahmat's claims and has appealed the district court's decision to the North Sumatra High Court.
Rahmat said news reports about the case following the verdict contained false information and were misleading.
"Pangkatan has not invested any money (in the plantation) except for the purchase, and we are willing to pay back that money so they will not lose a penny. They claim to have invested money to replant 137 hectares of land, but the truth is the money came from Sembada's internal cash flow."
He also called British Ambassador to Indonesia Charles Humfrey, who said the verdict would discourage British investors from investing here, irresponsible, saying the ambassador "does not know the real situation".