Da'i ready to confront critics

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Sole police chief nominee Commissioner General Da'i Bachtiar says that the corruption allegations brought against him are unfounded and that he is ready to confront his critics to set the record straight.

"I am ready to confront those who doubt my personal integrity and credibility," Da'i told The Jakarta Post in an interview here on Wednesday.

"All the bribery and corruption allegations brought against me are unsubstantiated," he asserted.

He said that those who opposed his nomination as the new police chief should check his record with National Police headquarters before making any allegations.

Da'i's critics have expressed strong objections to President Megawati Soekarnoputri's decision to nominate him as the new police chief replacing incumbent Comr. Gen. Surojo Bimantoro, who is due to retire in November.

His critics have alleged that Da'i took bribes totaling Rp 4 billion in 1997 from the owners of troubled banks which he investigated for violating the 20 percent legal lending limit and misusing liquidity supports from Bank Indonesia, the central bank.

His opponents also hold him accountable for the killing of five people in Bondonwoso in 2000, when local residents burned down a local police station.

The incident started when police released a murder suspect due to lack of evidence. Local residents staged a violent rally and set the Bondowoso police station ablaze. In their desperate efforts to disperse the angry mob, the police opened fire on the protesters, killing at least five people and injuring several others.

"It was surprising to see what happened in the field. I have to admit at that time I was also surprised because my officers moved too fast without thinking first."

"I dismissed the Bondowoso Police chief (Sr. Comr. Marwoto Suto) only a few hours after the incident took place," Da'i said.

He added that what was needed at the time was someone to calm down the locals in a bid to avoid further unrest.

When asked to comment on former president Abdurrahman Wahid's remarks on his performance in handling the enraged mob in Bondowoso, which is a stronghold of the Nahdlatul Ulama Muslim organization, Da'i only said, "Complete reports on the incident were forwarded and none were engineered. That's our duty and we expect no praise for that."

Da'i was chief of the East Java police in 2000.

"I don't want to comment on the allegations because whatever I say the people will always think that I'm only defending myself," he said.

"As a police officer, I have always been guided by professionalism. I am not only defending my corps but ultimately I work to serve and protect the public," Da'i asserted.

He said that in 1997 the National Police opened an investigation into troubled banks that were suspected of violating legal lending limits.

"The investigation was launched after Bank Indonesia, the Attorney General's Office and the police signed an agreement to probe the troubled banks that had received liquidity support (BLBI) assistance from the central bank," Da'i said.

In the investigation, police were guided by Law No. 10/1998 on banking, Da'i said.

In 1997, at least 16 banks were investigated for violating legal lending limits, 12 in 1998, five in 1999, four in 2000, and from January to July 2001, another four banks were investigated.

Of the total 42 banks investigated, 34 cases were completed.

Da'i admitted that the investigations into the banks were sluggish but that none had been halted until there was an instruction from the then coordinating minister for the economy, finance and industry to use other strategies in dealing with the bankers.

"After the coordinating meeting, we suspended the investigation into several banks as the government decided to approach the bankers to seek the return of the loans," Da'i said, adding that it was the National Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) that played the major role.

"The problem is that the public sometimes do not realize that law enforcement doesn't stop with the police. It's still got a long way to go as there are the prosecutors and the courts involved too. What was most important in these banking cases is that we forwarded all completed investigations to the public prosecutors," Da'i remarked.

After assuming the post as the National Police's chief of detectives, Da'i was later promoted to become East Java's police chief in 2000.