Exonerated, Akbar's chance improve: Court favors House leader

Tiarma Siboro and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Golkar leader Akbar Tandjung broke his fast on Thursday and later prostrated himself to the floor of his official residence to express his gratitude to God, shortly after Supreme Court presiding judge Paulus Effendy Lotulung acquitted him in a corruption case.

After watching TV7 channel, which broadcast live the court proceedings for nearly 8 hours, with two of his four daughters Triana Krisandini and Sekar Krisnauli, and wife Krisnina Maharani, Akbar eventually received from the five-judge panel the message he had insisted he deserved to hear.

"The defendant is not proven guilty of abusing his position and enriching himself and therefore he should be discharged from the verdict against him," Paulus said to Akbar's relief, and his wife then kissed him.

Akbar, who was clearly tense during the reading of the verdict, did not try to hide his tears. His two daughters, who skipped school to accompany their father on judgment day, also cried.

Hundreds of Golkar politicians, Akbar's supporters and journalists packed Akbar's official residence on Jl. Widya Chandra, South Jakarta.

The support for Akbar did not only come from Golkar politicians, but also from other parties. Barlianta Harahap and Endin AJ Soefihara, of the United Development Party (PPP), and Imam Addaruqutni, from the National Mandate Party (PAN), also went to Akbar's house.

The guests had been at the house since morning and most remained until 7 p.m. Akbar's supporters, both in the courtroom and at his residence, shouted joyously when the reading of the verdict was over.

The judges overturned a decision of the Central Jakarta Court, which found the 59-year-old politician guilty in September 2002 of misuse of Rp 40 billion (US$4.8 million) in state funds. The Jakarta High Court upheld the decision four months later.

Akbar's role in the money disbursement, according to the final verdict, however, was merely "the implementation of an official instruction and therefore the action cannot be classified as a legal offense".

The speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR), who always fasts every Monday and Thursday, commented on the favorable outcome, saying, "I believe that I have done nothing wrong. Thank God, this is the answer to my prayers."

One of the judges, Abdurrahman Saleh, however, had an opinion that dissented from those of the other judges, and his opinion was also included in the verdict. Paulus asked Abdurrahman to read out his opinion.

"This verdict is a humiliation of the law when these judges say that the lower courts have wrongly implemented the law," said Abdurrahman.

The Supreme Court concluded that two other convicts, Dadang Sukandar and Winfried Simatupang, who have each been sentenced by the Central Jakarta District Court to 18-months in jail, were guilty of misusing state funds.

In his position as state secretary under then president B.J. Habibie, Akbar asked the two businessmen in 1999 to buy staple foods for the poor, who were suffering badly from the country's economic crisis in 1998 and 1999.

"I called on the public to respect the law because our state is a law-abiding one. I have a legal problem, so the solution must be arrived at through legal means -- via the Supreme Court," Akbar said in his appeal to the public.

In contrast to the excited reaction shown by his supporters in Jakarta, people in his provincial hometown in North Sumatra did not pay much attention to the event.

According to Antara, many in the province concentrated more on their routine activities in predicting the outcome of the togel (illegal lottery), drawn several times per week.

"Why should we discuss Akbar's fate? It's more productive to bet!" said a becak driver in Medan.