Businessman clarifies 'misleading' reports
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".