Govt may give up stakes in 7 charity foundations
JAKARTA (JP): The government might sell the stakes controlled by seven foundations chaired by former president Soeharto if they lack profitability, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare and Poverty Alleviation Haryono Suyono said on Thursday.
Haryono said that because the foundations lost their rights to collect funds from the public last July, their current incomes depend on the interest earned by the foundations, and the profits of the companies that are partly owned by the foundations.
"The shares will be withdrawn if deemed necessary; if they are no longer gainful," Haryono said after accompanying First Lady Hasri Ainun Habibie to the closing ceremony of a under-five-year- old healthy baby contest at the State Palace.
President B.J. Habibie, in decree No. 195 dated Nov. 24, authorized Haryono to act as operational coordinator of the Rp 4 trillion (US$530 million) in the charity foundations. Soeharto sent a letter to Habibie on Nov. 22 in which he handed over the assets of the companies to the government.
The foundations include Supersemar, Dharmais, Dakab, Amal Bakti Muslim Pancasila, Dana Sejahtera Mandiri, Gotong Royong and Trikora. Six of the foundations were designed to concentrate on charitable activities, while Dakab was aimed mainly at financing Golkar. Soeharto had previously handed over control of this foundation to Golkar.
"Golkar no longer needs the money, despite our financial problems," Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung said on Thursday.
The Dharmais, Supersemar and Dakab foundations jointly own a 79.29 percent stake of the publicly-listed Bank Duta. The Nusamba Group, also controlled by the three foundations, has a 10 percent share in the automotive company PT Astra International.
Nusamba Mineral Industries is also a minority owner of copper and gold giant PT Freeport Indonesia. The company is currently 81.28 percent owned by Freeport McMoRan, 9.36 percent owned by the Indonesian government and 9.36 percent owned by PT Indocopper Investama Corporation. Indocopper is 50.48 percent owned by Nusamba Mineral Industries.
Separately, former vice president Try Soetrisno welcomed the government's fight against corruption, saying he was also ready to be investigated. "Everyone should be equal under the law," he said, as long as investigations were conducted in a "proportional" manner, without any "overacting".
However, the chairman of ABRI's Veteran Association said that apart from legal aspects, "morals, ethics and customs" should also be taken into account.
Also on Thursday, in Bandung, West Java, deputy chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights, Marzuki Darusman, hinted that a commission promised by President B.J. Habibie to speed up the investigation into former president Soeharto's wealth would be set up next week.
Marzuki, also the chairman of the Golkar faction in the People's Consultative Assembly, commented after addressing a human rights seminar. However, he said that the commission would not be authorized to take legal actions.
"The independent commission will only be assigned to carry out fact finding on the wealth of former president Soeharto and his cronies," he was quoted by Antara as saying. He said that the commission would report its findings to the President. (prb/byg/imn)