Govt replaces Ridwan as Merpati's president

Govt replaces Ridwan as Merpati's president

JAKARTA (JP): State-owned PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines
president Ridwan Fatarudin's tense waiting for a confirmation of
his imminent replacement has ended.

Director General of Air Transportation Zainuddin Sikado
disclosed yesterday that the finance minister, as the nominee
government shareholder in all state-owned companies, has agreed
to replace Ridwan Fatarudin as the chief of the subsidiary of the
flag carrier Garuda Indonesia.

"The minister of finance has given his approval. I just knew
it on Thursday," Sikado, who returned here on Thursday from a
visit to the United States, told a hastily-convened news
conference yesterday.

The management of Garuda, as Merpati's parent company, will
soon appoint a successor to Ridwan, he added.

He said the decree on the appointment of the new chief of
Merpati will be issued after Garuda's president Soepandi, who is
accompanying President Soeharto during his current visit to the
United States, returns home.

However, Sikado hastily added that "Ridwan's replacement has
nothing to do with the controversy caused by his refusal to lease
16 CN-235-200 aircraft."

Speculations about Ridwan's imminent replacement were rife
following his blunt announcement early last week that the airline
would not lease 16 CN-235-200 aircraft from PT Arthasaka
Nusaphala because they were too expensive.

His firing seemed even more certain after Minister of
Transport Haryanto Dhanutirto reportedly sent a letter to the
Garuda management demanding Ridwan's replacement.

But Sikado said yesterday that the plan to replace Ridwan, who
assumed his top position at Merpati in 1992, has been underway
for four months ago, long before he went public with his
controversial statement.

"I really don't understand why Ridwan decided on the refusal
while negotiations are still underway. Neither do I know what's
going on with Merpati," Sikado said.

Ridwan argued that his refusal to lease the CN-235-200
aircraft was caused by the too-high fee, US$110,000 per unit a
month, demanded by Arthasaka.

Moreover, he contended, the 14 CN-235-10s currently operated
by Merpati have been causing the airline to lose money due to
high operation costs.

According to Sikado, the 16 CN-235-200s must be leased as the
government has no money to buy them. "Based on our calculation,
the monthly leasing fee will reach $105,000 per aircraft."

Sikado added that other directors of Merpati--Budhiarto
Subroto, Amin Kahar and Syarifudin Iteroedin -- respectively
directors of operation, finance and commerce will also be
replaced soon but he did not elaborate.

Informed sources at the ministry of transportation nonetheless
believed that Ridwan's replacement had been prepared by Haryanto
before the widely-publicized rejection of the aircraft which is
made by the state-owned PT IPTN aerospace company in Bandung.

State Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie is the
chairman of PT IPTN, while Arthasaka which is to lease the
aircraft to Merpati is owned jointly by the politically-well
connected Bakrie and Humpuss business groups.

"There must be some other reasons," the sources said, citing
the construction of the new Merpati building in Jakarta at a cost
of Rp 50 billion (US$21.9 million) without prior approval of the
ministries of transportation and finance," the sources said.(icn)