Disgraced Akbar takes over AIPO presidency

Disgraced Akbar takes over AIPO presidency

Agence France-Presse Hanoi

Disgraced Indonesian legislature speaker Akbar Tandjung took over the presidency of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization (AIPO) on Wednesday despite his conviction last week on corruption charges.

Akbar was handed the official wooden gavel by the outgoing Vietnamese head of the regional body, Nguyen Van An, about whom murky rumors still linger over his links to an explosive gangster scandal.

The handover took place at the closing ceremony of AIPO's 23rd general assembly in Hanoi.

Akbar was allowed to attend the annual meeting despite being sentenced to three years in prison last Wednesday by a Jakarta district court for misusing some Rp 40 billion (US$4.5 million) in state funds.

The shrewd and seasoned parliamentarian, who is also chairman of the former ruling Golkar Party, remains free pending appeal.

International observers to the assembly, which opened on Monday under the stewardship of Vietnam, lambasted Akbar's acceptance of the presidency, saying it severely damaged AIPO's credibility.

"It is a disgrace. It's an embarrassment for Indonesia and it is an embarrassment for AIPO," one Western legislator told AFP requesting anonymity. "It completely undermines AIPO's standing."

AIPO is made up of the eight states with parliaments from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations -- Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The other two ASEAN members, Brunei and Myanmar, have no legislatures but are included as dialogue partners.

Nine countries and delegations outside the grouping, including Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, Japan and New Zealand, were invited as observers

Despite mounting calls for his resignation back home, Akbar has insisted he will remain parliamentary speaker and Golkar chairman, saying he was appealing the verdict.

Leading Indonesian legislators have said they would propose the establishment of an honor council to fire Akbar if he refused to resign voluntarily.

The case against him concerns the Indonesian government's decision to allocate funds from the national food agency Bulog to feed poor villagers in 1999, following the 1997-98 regional financial crisis.

Akbar oversaw the program as cabinet secretary. He says he appointed a foundation to arrange the food delivery, which in turn appointed a contractor.

However, there is no evidence any food was ever delivered. Some local media have alleged the money was diverted into Golkar's election fund.