Court tells Kito, Akbar to settle out of court

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The South Jakarta District Court began on Thursday a lawsuit hearing filed by legal insider Kito Irkhamni against Golkar leader Akbar Tandjung for failing to make good on an under-the- table payment, but judges adjourned it shortly afterward and told the two settle their dispute out of court.

"We'll give them 30 days to settle the case out of court," Presiding Judge Ida Bagus Putu Madeg said.

Kito, a former aide of Attorney General M.A. Rachman, has filed the suit against Akbar, who is also speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR), for allegedly breaching an agreement to pay Rp 1 billion (US$114,000) for inside information about his corruption case.

Suhardi Somomoeljono, one of Kito's legal advisors, asked the panel of three judges to read out, and make public, the lawsuit on Thursday. However, Judge Madeg rejected his demand, saying that they must wait for the result of the mediation.

Akbar's lawyer, Amir Syamsuddin, said mediation attempts were common in civil cases and that his client would obey the court order, although he could not guarantee that the case would be settled amicably.

"We will follow the rules," he told reporters after the hearing.

The two sides agreed to appoint Judge Asnahwati to assist in the mediation process.

Meanwhile, Kito rejected accusations that his lawsuit was done for political reasons.

"I have nothing to do with politics. It (politics) is not my business," he asserted.

Kito explained that Akbar had breached an agreement to pay him the money as a "fee for his services in providing information on the ongoing developments of Akbar's corruption case from the district court to the Supreme Court".

He also demanded that Akbar pay Rp 5 billion extra for failing to keep his promise.

Kito has stated that Akbar asked him "to convince judges that Akbar made no mistake in the case", referring to the misappropriation of funds worth Rp 40 billion from the State Logistics Agency (Bulog).

The Central Jakarta District Court declared him guilty of corruption in that case and sentenced him to three years in prison. He appealed and the High Court upheld the guilty verdict, but the Supreme Court eventually overturned the conviction in February.

Kito also alleged that Akbar told him to arrange meetings between Akbar and the judges on the case.

It is not clear if any meetings between Akbar and the judges took place.

Kito admits that Akbar handed over two checks totaling Rp 325 million as an "operational fee", and he cashed them on July 30, 2002, at the Semanggi branch of BNI bank.

Akbar, for his part, has admitted only to meeting Kito, who is also his wife's cousin, on occasion in 2002 but denied allegations that he had asked Kito for inside information.

The Golkar leader is seeking the presidential nomination against several party rivals, which will be decided during the party's final convention scheduled for April 20.