Governor said to conceal more wealth

Governor said to conceal more wealth

Yuliansyah, The Jakarta Post, Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan

The State Officials' Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN) came to the
conclusion that South Kalimantan Governor Sjachriel Darham had
concealed his wealth and should, therefore, be dismissed.

In a meeting with local councillors over the weekend, KPKPN
Chairman Jusuf Syakir said that the governor was not honest in
reporting his assets.

"KPKPN found out that some of his assets were not mentioned in
the report," councillor Farid Wajedi from the United Development
Party (PPP) said after the meeting.

However, he refused to disclose which assets were missing from
his report.

The KPKPN investigation followed reports from a group of non-
governmental organizations which said Sjachriel possessed five
luxurious houses in Jakarta, Malang and Banjarmasin and several
luxury cars that he failed to report to the wealth audit
commission following his inauguration as governor in 2001.

KPKPN has also written Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno,
suggesting that he dismiss Sjachriel.

The provincial legislature also submitted a similar letter to
the home minister last year, following its no-confidence vote
against the governor. The central government has simply refused
to respond and still considers Sjachriel the legitimate governor.

However, the recommendation from the KPKPN has sparked a rift
among the councillors, with some members of PPP faction vowing to
defend Sjachriel. The governor was nominated by the Muslim-based
party during an election in 2001.

The provincial legislature's deputy speaker Syamsuri Darham of
PPP said the demand for Sjachriel's dismissal was unfair as
several other officials in the province had not even submitted
the wealth reports yet to KPKPN.

He insisted that the governor be given a chance to complete
his wealth report as there was the possibility that Sjachriel had
forgotten how many houses and cars he owns.

"Besides, many other officials even failed to submit their
wealth report. So why does KPKPN target Sjachriel?" Syamsuri, who
is the governor's brother in-law, wondered.

He further suggested that the council wait for the results of
the ongoing legal process in Sjachriel's case before deciding the
political status of the governor.

Syamsuri's statement was immediately refuted by the
legislature's speaker Mansyah, who said the council would take
action to follow up on the KPKPN recommendation.

"We will establish a special investigation commission and
gather more information regarding the allegations," Mansyah of
Golkar Party remarked.

Bachruddin Syarkawie, another deputy speaker representing the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), said
that the KPKPN had solid data to support its findings.

He said he would support the establishment of a special
committee to investigate the governor, saying it was entirely
consistent with the Law No. 28/1999 on clean government.