Ginandjar must appear for questioning: AG

Ginandjar must appear for questioning: AG

JAKARTA (JP): Attorney General Marzuki Darusman insisted on
Friday that former top official Ginandjar Kartasasmita, a
visiting scholar at Harvard University in the U.S., should come
to his office to be questioned over several graft cases.

Marzuki said he received on Thursday a letter sent by
Ginandjar's lawyer, Muchyar Yara, stating that his client could
not leave his work at the university but was willing to give
written testimonies.

"We're looking for a solution over this matter. He's allowed
to give written testimonies but we still want his presence here
as he once promised," he told journalists at his office.

Marzuki said that before Ginandjar left the country last year,
the former coordinating minister for the economy, finance and
industry, who is also the deputy speaker of the People's
Consultative Assembly, committed himself to return home at
anytime to fulfill the state prosecutors' summonses.

"We understand that Ginandjar has been kept busy with his
activities but his latest words are not the same as those he
uttered earlier. Hopefully Ginandjar can be present for the
investigation," he added.

Ginandjar, who held several ministerial posts during the
administration of former president Soeharto, served as the mines
and energy minister between 1988-1993. The era spanning
Soeharto's term of office witnessed a number of alleged
corruption cases now being handled by prosecutors.

Among the cases were ones involving Soeharto's children, Sigit
Hardjojudanto and Siti Hardijanti Hastuti "Tutut" Rukmana. The
latter is a suspect in the marking up of a government oil
contract.

Ginandjar himself was believed to have been involved in some
fraudulent contracts for the development of the Balongan refinery
in Indramayu, West Java; the selection of Paiton Energy for the
power purchase contract in East Java; and a contract agreement
with U.S.-based oil company Arco.

In July last year, Ginandjar had taken the initiative to visit
the Attorney General's Office to counter the allegations.

He left for the U.S. in August and is scheduled to finish the
program next June.

The controversy over Ginandjar's role erupted after the
resignation of Soeharto in the middle of 1998.

Soeharto

In a separate development, state prosecutors and management of
state-run Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital agreed to start observing
medical records of the ailing Soeharto, a defendant in a US$571
million graft case, on Monday.

Antasari Azhar, head of the South Jakarta Prosecutors' Office,
said on Friday that the data examination is aimed at assessing
Soeharto's up-to-date medical condition.

"It's up to the team of doctors, to be officially announced on
Monday, to decide whether it is necessary to examine Soeharto
after observing the data," he told journalists after a meeting
with the doctors at the Jakarta Prosecutors' Office.

Head of the team of doctors, Ichramsjah A. Rachman, said his
team, which has yet to be fully formed, will be a "complete team"
and includes, among others, a neurologist, a surgeon, a heart
specialist, and a laboratory analyst.

Muchtar Arifin, chief prosecutor of the case, said that the
office will coordinate with Soeharto's family regarding medical
treatment.

In an effort to improve the performance of the prosecutors'
intelligence work, Marzuki had decided to replace deputy attorney
Lt. Gen. (ret) Yusuf Kartanegara with military prosecutor Maj.
Gen. (ret) Chalid Karim Leo. The ceremony will be held on Monday.

Marzuki said that although Yusuf was once an adjutant to
Soeharto, the latter's work wouldn't be a hindrance to his office
investigation on the cases involving Soeharto's children and
family.

Asked to comment on the statement made by presidential
spokesman Wimar Witoelar calling for his resignation if he failed
to probe several big corruption cases within a month, Marzuki
shrugged off the possibility. He believed the statement did not
reflect the views of President Abdurrahman Wahid. (bby)