Govt may give up stakes in 7 charity foundations

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"The shares will be withdrawn if deemed necessary; if they are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)