Govt undecided if Arifin in alleged plot
Govt undecided if Arifin in alleged plot
JAKARTA (JP): The government remained undecided yesterday
about the legal status of oil tycoon Arifin Panigoro, who has
been accused of involvement in a conspiracy of intellectuals to
disrupt national stability and order.
"The case is still under police investigation. No decision has
been made on the suspect Arifin Panigoro," said Coordinating
Minister for Political Affairs and Security Gen. (ret) Feisal
Tanjung yesterday.
Speaking to reporters after chairing the Seventh Development
Cabinet's first coordinative meeting on political affairs and
security, Feisal said the police investigation into the alleged
conspiracy was touched upon in the meeting.
He said the government would stop the probe if it failed to
gather enough evidence to support the allegation. "On the other
hand, we'd proceed with a trial if the evidence supports the
allegation," he said.
Arifin, owner of the giant Medco Energi Corporation, was
invited to a discussion held by the Center for Strategy and
Policy Studies at the Radisson Hotel in Yogyakarta on Feb. 5. The
center is led by government critic Amien Rais, who is also
chairman of the 28-million-strong Muhammadiyah Moslem
organization.
Police opened an investigation into the meeting, attended by
18 participants, after receiving a copy of a report sent by one
of the participants, Sofian Effendi, to his boss, then state
minister of research and technology B.J. Habibie.
The meeting, according to Sofian's report, discussed efforts
to mobilize one million people onto the streets of Jakarta on
March 1, the first day of the five-yearly General Session of the
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).
The Assembly reelected President Soeharto for a seventh
consecutive term, appointed B.J. Habibie vice president and
endorsed the 1998/2003 State Policy Guidelines.
The meeting participants are also alleged to have denounced
the government and discussed efforts to disrupt stability and
order.
Arifin has been formally charged and, if found guilty, may
face a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment.
Arifin's legal advisor, Todung Mulya Lubis, called on police
to discontinue the investigation because the allegation was
groundless.
"In my opinion, Arifin cannot be held responsible for the
content of the meeting as it only discussed social and economic
problems in general," he told The Jakarta Post Wednesday.
"Should the government press ahead with court proceedings, the
country's image will be ruined," he said.
He said he did not believe that Arifin had the capability to
mobilize one million people onto the streets as he was not a
politician but purely a businessman.
"Arifin had no intention of toppling the government or
disrupting the general session of the MPR," he said.
Mulya said it was natural that the meeting participants,
including Arifin, would be involved in heated and critical
debates as they were all intellectuals.
"And yet the discussion was civilized and in compliance with
the Constitution," he said.
He said the allegation was an illusion created by Sofian.
Mulya said his client had not yet decided whether to sue
Sofian.
Another participant, political observer Afan Gaffar, has
already strongly protested Sofian's report and threatened to sue
him. (imn)