Ginandjar's graft case litmus test for Susilo
Ginandjar's graft case litmus test for Susilo
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's pledge to eradicate rampant
corruption could be seriously tested after prosecutors announced
on Friday that they had halted an investigation into former mines
and energy minister and current legislative leader Ginandjar
Kartasasmita's graft case.
The Attorney General's Office spokesman RJ Suhandoyo said on
Friday that Deputy Attorney General for special crimes Sudhono
Iswahyudi signed on Oct. 12 a letter declaring that there was not
sufficient evidence to pursue investigations against Ginandjar,
the current Regional Representatives Council (DPD) chairman and
key Golkar Party figure.
"We have done everything, but we've failed to collect enough
evidence. So we must stop investigating. Unless we have new data
that could be used as evidence, we must close the case,"
Suhandoyo told The Jakarta Post.
Two other suspects in the case were the late Faisal Abda'oe,
former state-owned oil company Pertamina's director, and Praptono
H. Tjitrohupojo, the director of PT Ustraindo Petrogas.
The three were accused of corruption and markups in technical
assistance contracts (TAC) for the Balongan and Cepu oil fields,
causing the state to lose US$24.8 million.
The announcement came just two days after President Susilo
publicly announced that he would personally lead the country's
fight against corruption, which has been blamed for pushing the
country to the brink of bankruptcy.
It also came just one day after the induction of new Attorney
General Abdul Rahman Saleh, an experienced judge, who Susilo will
be counting on to be at the forefront of the war on graft.
Ginandjar and Faisal were detained for questioning in 2001 but
later released. The prosecutors claimed that there was not strong
enough evidence to support the allegation.
In mid-2002, the Balongan case was reopened. Faisal died just
months after the case was reopened, while the investigation
against Ginandjar was hampered by the fact that he had to be
first tried or investigated by the military as he was an active
military officer at the time of the alleged wrongdoings.
Suhandoyo said Friday that Abdul Rahman had said that he was
willing to study cases that have been closed due to lack of
evidence, including Ginandjar's case.
"As the new attorney general, he has asked every prosecutor's
office to submit reports on corruption cases they have handled.
The Attorney General will study all high profile cases before
deciding what to do," he said.