Conflicting testimonies cloud Bulog scandal

Tue, 28 May 2002, 00:00 WIB | Source: JP

JAKARTA: Expert witness Hatomi Abdul Hamid, who is the former
director of budget management for the Ministry of Finance, told
the court on Monday that there are formal procedures for the use
of non-budgetary state funds.

In the trial of the misappropriation of Rp 40 billion in State
Logistics Agency (Bulog) funds that involves House of
Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung, Hatomi underlined that
there should be an official report and a formal bid to pick the
project organizer.

Akbar, who was then minister/cabinet secretary, failed to make
an official report about the use of the state funds and abused
his power by appointing the Raudlatul Jannah Foundation to
organize the distribution of food to the poor in 1999.

The court also heard five witnesses who gave conflicting
testimonies in the hearing. -- JP

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