Garuda confirms US$300,000 sent to Gus Dur

Garuda confirms US$300,000 sent to Gus Dur

JAKARTA (JP): Garuda Indonesia confirmed on Tuesday it was
asked by the Presidential Office to deliver US$300,000 to
President Abdurrahman Wahid during his recent overseas trip to
Saudi Arabia.

The national airline was quick to add, however, that the money
did not come from it.

"The money was not from Garuda, but the Presidential
Secretariat entrusted the money to us to be taken to Jeddah
(Saudi Arabia) onboard the GA-986 flight on March 4," Pujobroto,
a spokesman for the airliner, said.

"The reason for using Garuda to deliver the money was nothing
other than speediness," he added.

The statement came following reports on Tuesday that during
the President's trip to the Middle East and North African
countries, a deputy to the presidential secretary, Bambang
Irawan, wrote a letter dated March 1 to an unnamed general
manager of Garuda Indonesia at Soekarno Hatta airport. In the
letter, the airline was asked to deliver the money to staff
traveling with Abdurrahman.

"We hereby inform you that in order to cover the expenses of
VVIPs (very, very important persons) during the presidential
overseas trip, we require US$300,000 in cash," the letter read.

"For that purpose, we would like the assistance of Garuda to
deliver the money at the first opportunity through Garuda crew
leaving for Jeddah, to be delivered to the protocol officer of
the Presidential Secretariat in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia," the
letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Jakarta Post, read.

Presidential aides were tight-lipped about the letter on
Tuesday and none of the presidential spokesmen were available for
comment.

Abdurrahman recently completed a two-week overseas trip to
Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Nigeria and Sudan. The
President capped his trip by performing the haj pilgrimage in
Saudi Arabia, arriving home on March 8.

It was far from clear where or how the money was spent, but
palace sources and journalists traveling with Abdurrahman believe
the money was used to cover expenses during the haj pilgrimage.

There also was no explanation how the President, on a trip
that had been planned far in advance, could suddenly be short of
funds.

There was, however, one indication that the trip was not as
well-planned as it could have been. With no prior notice,
journalists traveling with the President were informed in Nigeria
on Feb. 28 that they would have to pay US$3,000 for the five-day
stay in Saudi Arabia.

The journalists refused and expressed their intention to
return immediately to Jakarta. However, Wahyu Muryadi, the chief
of palace protocol, eventually came up with a compromise and
asked journalists to pay some US$700.

Separately, National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Didi Widayadi
said on Tuesday the letter and its source needed to be
investigated before police could consider taking any action.

"We need to find out how such a confidential state-related
letter could be leaked, and what was the motive behind the leak,"
Didi told the Post.

"Then there is the matter of accountability. We need to get to
the source of the funds ... who disbursed it and what were the
funds used for. We need to find out whether this money, if it was
disbursed, could legally be used by the President for the Jeddah
trip."

A police source said on Tuesday police already knew the money
was disbursed to pay for the Jeddah trip, but were still
investigating the source of the funds.

The revelation was the latest blow to Abdurrahman, who has
been under intense pressure to resign after the House of
Representatives censured him on Feb. 1 for his alleged
involvement in two financial scandals.

Critics also have accused the President of failing to carry
out reforms, solve violent separatist and communal conflicts and
lift the country out of its economic troubles. (byg/ylt)