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)