Da'i ready to confront critics

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.