Graft suspect Akbar free to travel overseas: AGO
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
House Speaker Akbar Tandjung is free to travel overseas after the Attorney General's Office decided on Thursday not to ban him from leaving the country despite his status as a suspect in a massive corruption scandal.
Shortly thereafter, the House Consultative Body (Bamus) handed Akbar another gift by unanimously agreeing to delay discussions on the Golkar chairman's alleged corruption involvement until March 7.
Head of the state prosecution team investigating the case, Manaf Djubaedi, told reporters that there was no need to stop Akbar from performing his second haj pilgrimage to Mecca as the interrogation was due to take place before his departure on Feb. 14.
"There is no travel prohibition on Akbar," Manaf told reporters on Thursday, adding that the questioning had been scheduled for Feb. 4.
The prosecutors' decision not to impose a travel ban on Akbar reinforces public opinion that the law enforcers are not serious in taking legal action against Akbar who is accused of stealing Rp 40 billion (about US$4 million) of State Logistics Agency (Bulog) funds.
Four other suspects in the same case, including former Bulog chief Rahardi Ramelan, have been banned from traveling overseas in order to expedite the investigation into the scandal totaling, Rp 54.6 billion.
Akbar's lawyers informed the state prosecutors on Monday of their client's plan to visit the Muslim Holy Land, a move apparently aimed at demanding that the investigators adjust the questioning schedule.
Instead of opting for an early date of Feb. 11 as proposed in the meeting, all factions in the House of Representatives (DPR) unanimously agreed to delay discussing the case until March 7.
"We've agreed to set the date March 7 to hear comments from 10 factions on the proposal to form an inquiry committee," House deputy speaker Muhaimin Iskandar told the press after presiding over the closed-door meeting.
Legislators are scheduled to convene on Feb. 11 at the soonest, but the factions opted for March 7 on the grounds that there are too many issues to be discussed on Feb. 11.
The delay was seemingly a result of lobbying by Golkar in its attempts to rescue its chairman Akbar Tandjung from a humiliating investigation in the House.
Akbar has himself met President Megawati Soekarnoputri, also the chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), twice to negotiate the matter.
Akbar was declared a suspect by the Attorney General's Office in the scandal on Jan. 7. Several witnesses have been questioned over the high-profile scam in recent days.
Muhaimin of the National Awakening Party admitted that the delay was aimed at giving legislators the opportunity to scrutinize the legal process at the Attorney General's Office.
Asked if legislators considered discussions on an inquiry committee less important, Muhaimin replied that it was only a matter of schedule.
Muhaimin was, however, unable to reveal items in the schedule to be discussed on Feb. 11.
Golkar's Hafiz Zawawi simply said that the delay would be used by legislators to monitor the legal process of the financial scandal.
"We didn't raise the suggestion. We've just agreed to the proposal from other factions," he said after the meeting.