Forest auditors accused of links to timber convict
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Three assessment companies appointed by the Ministry of Forestry to help filter out bad forest concession holders are being suspected of having links to certain concession holders including timber tycoon Bob Hasan.
The three companies are part of 12 firms assigned to check if the concessionaires have applied sustainable development principles to their operations. Based on the results of the assessment, the government would decide whether to revoke the concessionaires' licenses or allow them to continue their operations.
But a source said that one of the companies called PT Mutuagung Lestari is owned by Bob, a prominent concessionaire and a close friend of former authoritarian president Soeharto.
Bob, who was also the former chairman of the Association of Indonesian Forest Concessionaires (APHI), is currently serving a six-year jail term for his involvement in a corruption case.
Agus Setyarso, a spokesman for a special supervision agency assigned to monitor the works of the above assessment companies, said that the agency doubted the independency of three companies due to their links with concessionaires.
He said that the supervision agency was currently trying to gather evidence to demand the forestry ministry to cancel the contract with the three firms.
"We are questioning the three companies since they are suspectedly to have links with concessionaires, but until now we can not eliminate them since we have no sufficient legal evidence for that yet," Agus told The Jakarta Post.
He added that the agency would put a close eye on the work of the three companies.
He declined to disclose the name of three companies, but the above source said that they were PT FFL International, PT Properindo Jasatama, and Mutuagung.
FFL International is a newly-established company with no experience in forest assessment work, while Properindo was believed to be set up by APHI.
Director general for the development of forest production at the forestry ministry Suhariyanto, who recommended the 12 firms, was not available for comment.
The government has been under pressure from the international community to protect the country's natural forests, which are now under critical condition due to deforestation problem.
Meanwhile, Mutuagung spokesman Taufik Margani denied the accusation, saying that Bob had sold his shares in the company in 2000.
He added that Mutuagung was a credible and professional assessment firm which had obtained the Ecolabeling Certification from the Indonesian Ecolabeling Institute (LEI).
Director of LEI, Dradjat Wibowo, confirmed this statement, but quickly added that Bob might have used a proxy in maintaining control over Mutuagung.
He said that LEI was also keeping a close eye on Mutuagung.