Guess What? Probosutedjo

Business tycoon Probosutedjo, former president Soeharto's half-brother, sobbed as he addressed a graduation ceremony on Tuesday at Wangsa Manggala University near Yogyakarta.

Probosutedjo, who chairs the foundation that runs the university, was obviously not one of the scores of parents who were happy because their children had completed their studies.

He used the occasion to tell stories of how people have mercilessly waged a campaign to misinform the public that he got his vast wealth by way of corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN) during Soeharto's 32 year rule.

"I did nothing as they have alleged," he said. His voice trembled with emotion. "What I have been doing is purely business ... and I don't know if my relatives committed KKN."

The audience fell silent and all eyes were on him.

Probosutedjo, who is acclaimed for his concern for education and owns several colleges, claimed the fact that he is Soeharto's relative has often hindered his business.

"They (bureaucrats) have often made things difficult for me," he said but he failed to mention if it had happened when Soeharto was in power.

He ended his speech with a piece of advice for the graduates: to ignore accusations, if any, that the money used to finance the college project was obtained through corruption, collusion and nepotism. (swa)