Govt dismisses customs's chief

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri has named Eddy Abdurrachman as the new Director General of Customs and Excise, thus dismissing Permana Agung.

Megawati issued a presidential decree on the appointment late last month, a day before she left for the Earth Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.

A copy of the decree was obtained by The Jakarta Post on Wednesday. The copy of the decree did not bear Megawati's signature.

Deputy Cabinet secretary Erman Rajagukguk confirmed that Megawati had issued the decree.

"A copy of a presidential decree does not require her signature. The original, which has her signature, is currently being kept on file. But I assure you that she indeed issued the decree," Erman told the Post.

However, Erman could not say when the new director would be installed.

Permana, who has been with the customs office for 15 years and assumed the current post in 1999, could not be reached for comment.

An aide said that Permana was on a trip to Malaysia to attend an international conference on customs, and would arrive in Indonesia on Thursday morning.

It has long been rumored that Permana would be dismissed amid rampant smuggling of foreign products into the country, which has seriously threatened the country's manufacturing sector.

Former president Abdurrahman Wahid had tried to dismiss Permana in 2001 on the grounds that he failed to execute a presidential instruction.

But supporters said that under Permana, the customs office had become more transparent.

His successor, Eddy, is currently the regional head of the customs and excise office in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

His office was linked to the smuggling of 11 Mercedes Benz sedans into the country in mid-2001, which also reportedly involved former National Police chief Sofjan Jacoeb.