Foiled Bulogate inquiry blows reform sky-high

Bernie K. Moestafa and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The collapse of all hopes of a political inquiry into House Speaker Akbar Tandjung's alleged involvement in a graft case shows that the mighty flare sent up by the 1998 reform movement has turned into a damp squib.

A motley collection of miniscule political parties and a civil society still in its infancy were now the reform movement's only hope, analysts said.

"To know why the Bulogate II inquiry was scuttled, we have to assess the bargaining position of the reformers. It doesn't amount to much," said political observer Fachry Ali on Tuesday.

In March, the Attorney General's Office named Akbar a suspect in a Rp 40 billion (about US$4.5 million) graft case involving State Logistics Agency (Bulog) funds.

Dubbed Bulogate II, after a similar case involving former President Abdurrahman Wahid, the AGO's findings triggered calls for a House special committee to probe Akbar's involvement in the case.

The country's second largest party, Golkar, which Akbar chairs, has since gone all out to defend its chairman, lobbying parties to vote against the setting up of the committee.

Concern rose that Golkar was in the business of offering political deals to protect Akbar's career. All this stood in stark contrast to the zeal and determination with which legislators, notably those from Golkar, hounded Abdurrahman through a special committee set up to investigate Bulogate I.

On Monday, legislators confirmed the suspicions of the public when they voted against the establishment of a special committee.

Golkar, the United Development Party (PPP), and the Indonesian Military/National Police factions all voted against.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), which initially backed the setting up of the committee, withdrew its support and, with the exception of a few members, its legislators chose to abstain.

Fachry Ali said the PDI Perjuangan feared that pushing ahead with the inquiry would cost the party Golkar's support.

Although controlling the largest share of seats in the House, the PDI Perjuangan realized that it needed the support of other big parties like Golkar and PPP to survive until at least the 2004 general election.

"There has been an agreement among the political parties not to rock the political boat until 2004," Fachry Ali explained.

The deal would be translated into the eschewing of political maneuvers against PDI Perjuangan chairwoman President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Political observer Arief Budiman said the vote on Monday showed that the political parties were more interested in maintaining power until 2004 than fighting graft.

"We can't rely much on our political parties, many of whose members are mere opportunists," Arief said.

Reflecting on Monday's vote debacle, the National Awakening Party (PKB) faction issued an apology to the entire nation for its incompetence in pushing for the establishment of a committee of inquiry into the Rp 40 billion scandal.

The fourth largest faction in the House urged the people to continuously monitor law enforcement and the attempts to eradicate corruption, collusion and nepotism.

"I apologize to the whole people for our deficiencies in pushing for the setting up of an inquiry committee," said PKB faction chairman Ali Masjkur Musa on Tuesday.

The PKB contributed to the failure as only 19 of its 55 members showed up at the plenary meeting.

"We will question those of our members who stayed away," Ali said.

In contrast to his boss, PKB legislator Effendy Choirie simply urged the press to forget all about it.

The blame for the House's failure to set up an inquiry committee was laid particularly at the door of the most influential party in the House, the PDI Perjuangan, for withdrawing its support at the last moment.

Only five out of 100 PDI Perjuangan legislators present at the meeting voted for the proposal.

PDI Perjuangan member Julius Usman said it would be difficult for him to face the people if he had rejected the proposal.

"I turned to my conscience and ethics," Julius told the press.

He added his decision to support the creation of a special committee was due to his disappointment with the legal process in the high-profile scandal.

Julius emphasized that a political approach in the form of a legislative inquiry was needed to disclose wrongdoings that could not be revealed in the courtroom.

Commenting on the fact that the majority of members of his faction abstained during the vote, Julius said the party's executive board had ordered all members to reject the proposal.

He said that the decision of PDI Perjuangan members to abstain was designed to accommodate the desire to back the setting up of an inquiry committee and at the same time to comply with the order of the party's executive board.

Fellow PDI Perjuangan legislator Aberson Marle Sihaloho, who voted against the proposal, reiterated that his party had faith in the ongoing legal process.