Government irks by Singapore stand

JAKARTA (JP): Justice minister Muladi aired the government's disappointment on Tuesday over Singapore's apparent reluctance to sign an extradition treaty.

"We are very disappointed in the Singapore government because until now it has not consented to sign an extradition treaty," Muladi told reporters after meeting President B.J. Habibie at Merdeka Palace.

The call for such a treaty was first aired in mid-December by Minister of Cooperatives and Small Enterprises Adi Sasono. Muladi called on Singapore days later to sign the treaty to enable Indonesia to bring home "economic criminals" believed to be taking refuge in the island-state.

At the time, Muladi defined economic criminals as Indonesians who laundered money in Singapore or who were involved in bank scams.

He said on Tuesday that without the treaty, both countries could become a haven for criminals from the other country.

Earlier in the day, Coordinating Minister for Supervision of Development and State Administrative Reforms Hartarto Sastrosunarto said Jakarta had signed extradition treaties with Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines as well as with Australia.

The government was also currently working on a treaty with Hong Kong for the surrender of fugitives and a bilateral agreement on mutual assistance in criminal matters with China, he said.

Muladi also said Jakarta was disappointed by a policy in Singapore that required permanent residents there, including Indonesians, to serve in the military.

"We have already asked for clarification from the government of Singapore but the reply of the Singaporean government was that it was not under any obligation to report (on the policy) to other countries," Muladi said.

Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines are all members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), along with Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. (byg)