Court opens new case against Akbar

Court opens new case against Akbar

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Just as he gears up for the presidential convention, Golkar
leader Akbar Tandjung is about to face another battle he did not
choose to fight -- a lawsuit filed by a self-confessed
middleman.

The South Jakarta District Court revealed on Monday that it
had scheduled the first hearing of Akbar's alleged breach of
contract case for next Thursday, days before Golkar is due to
hold its convention to elect a presidential candidate (on
Tuesday, April 20).

"I will chair the panel of judges hearing the case," spokesman
of the South Jakarta District Court Ida Bagus Putu Madeg said.

He stressed that the court was ready to hold the trial.

Akbar's defense lawyer, Atmajaya Salim, told The Jakarta Post
on Monday that his client was ready to face the lawsuit.

"It's just an ordinary case, but it carries much political
nuance due to my client's position," said Atmajaya.

Akbar, who is also House of Representatives (DPR) speaker, is
hoping to become his party's candidate for the presidency at the
April 20 convention.

Many analysts have suggested that Akbar could win Golkar's
endorsement due to his success in consolidating the party
following the downfall of former autocrat Soeharto in 1998. The
party is leading in the national tally for the legislative
election on April 5.

Kito Irkhamni, a former aide to Attorney General M.A. Rachman,
filed the lawsuit on March 25, accusing the House speaker of
breaching a verbal agreement to pay him Rp 1 billion (US$114,000)
as a "commitment fee for his services in providing information on
the development of Akbar's corruption case from the district
court to the Supreme Court".

He also demanded Akbar pay Rp 5 billion in material losses due
to his failure to keep his promise.

According to Kito, he met Akbar in 2002 when the latter was
questioned by prosecutors for allegedly misappropriating funds
worth Rp 40 billion from the State Logistics Agency (Bulog).

When the court started to hear his case, Akbar asked Kito to
monitor and inform him about each development in his case, Kito
said in his lawsuit.

Akbar also allegedly asked Kito to "convince judges who hear
the case that Akbar made no mistake in the case". It was also not
immediately clear if meetings between Akbar and the judges
handling his case ever took place.

Kito claimed that for services rendered Akbar handed over two
checks for Rp 325 million as an "operational fee" to Kito, who
cashed it should that be "them" as there were 2? at 12:30 p.m. on
July 30, 2002, at the Semanggi branch office of BNI bank.

Kito also claimed that Akbar promised him Rp 1 billion if the
Supreme Court issued a verdict favoring his appeal case. Akbar
confirmed the promise in writing on the back of his name card and
signed it.

Kito said that he had sufficient evidence and witnesses to
support his lawsuit.

Akbar admitted to meeting Kito in a family gathering in 2002
but denied the allegation that he had asked Kito to monitor his
case.

Akbar was declared guilty of corruption and sentenced to three
years in jail by the Central Jakarta District Court in 2002. The
verdict was upheld by the Jakarta High Court in 2003, but was
overturned by the Supreme Court in mid-February.

It remains unknown whether this latest development will be
treated as fresh evidence, and therefore the means by which the
corruption case on Akbar could be reopened.

The Attorney General's Office is still considering whether or
not to reopen his case.