Golkar lobbies to stymie plans for special committee to probe Akbar

Golkar lobbies to stymie plans for special committee to probe Akbar

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Golkar's well-oiled political machinery again showed its guile
on Tuesday as it attempted to thwart the setting up a special
legislative committee into the Bulog scandal, advocating instead
a more tedious, but less politically damaging, legal process
through the courts.

While the establishment of a House of Representative's
special committee into graft allegedly committed by Golkar
chairman and House Speaker Akbar Tandjung remains on the table
there were already signs that Golkar's lobbying may be
succeeding.

There are strong signals that major political factions are
swaying ahead of Thursday's meeting of the House's consultative
body to determine the necessity of the special committee.

Golkar's inner circle has been working full time to sway
opinion and distance itself from the case.

Senior party member Syamsul Muarif said on Tuesday that the
party fully supported legal proceedings on the matter, but
stressed that if the case went to court, people must make a
distinction between Akbar as current Golkar chairman, and Akbar
as state secretary when the crime was allegedly committed.

"People should learn to differentiate," Syamsul insisted,
while adding that people should not perceive it as a wrongdoing
committed by Golkar.

"The case basically concerns former president Habibie's
administration," Syamsul, who is also state minister of
communications and information, told The Jakarta Post.

The scam revolves around Akbar's alleged misuse, while as
secretary of state, of Rp 40 billion in funds from State
Logistics Agency (Bulog) which were said to be used for a poverty
alleviation program.

However there are suspicions that the money found its way into
Golkar's coffers during the 1999 General Elections.

Akbar, who was elected Golkar chairman in 1998, has maintained
his innocence and claims that the Bulog money had been handed
over to a private foundation for distribution of aid to the poor.

Syamsul pointed out that the scandal had nothing to do with
the party which has also been audited.

"Golkar will heed the outcome of legal procedures and should
Pak Akbar be found guilty then we will accept it," he said.

"But we maintain our stance in rejecting the establishment of
a special committee," he added.

Syamsul contended that the House had no authority to
investigate the scam because it involved misdemeanors of a
previous government.

"The House only has the authority to control the current
government and not a past administration," he argued, adding that
the whole affair was a political setup by disgruntled Golkar
members who felt Akbar betrayed then president B.J. Habibie in
his 1999 election bid.

The establishment and findings of a House special committee
would also have greater political repercussions for Golkar as a
whole as it prepares for the 2004 elections.

Even though some 50 legislators from various factions had
petitioned for the establishment of a special committee on the
matter, on Thursday the critical issue will be the stance of the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) as the
largest faction in the House.

PDI Perjuangan has 153-seats in the 500-member legislature.

After a meeting of the PDI Perjuangan leadership, which
included Megawati Soekarnoputri, here on Tuesday, the party
officially maintains that it supports both legal proceedings and
the special committee.

But remarks by Roy B.B. Janis, PDI Perjuangan faction chairman
at the House, left room for speculation. "If the legal procedure
goes in accordance with the public's wishes, then aspirations to
form special committee will not be the priority anymore, he
said."

Separately, Attorney General MA Rachman revealed that his
office had still not found any evidence that the Bulog funds had
actually been used to buy basic commodities for the poor in 1999.

"From our random check in nearby provinces, there has been no
proof that locals received basic commodities from the foundation
in question," Rachman told reporters at his office.

Rachman also said prosecutors Manaf Zubaidi and Santoso would
fly to Germany on Friday to question Habibie who is said to have
given instructions to disburse the Bulog funds.