Gus Dur cannot be blamed for Bulog scandal: Economist

Gus Dur cannot be blamed for Bulog scandal: Economist

JAKARTA (JP): While there is no clear regulation on the
mechanism involved in the disbursement of funds from the state
budget, it would be impossible to prosecute President Abdurrahman
Wahid in connection with the Rp 35 billion (US$4.1 million)
scandal at the State Logistics Agency (Bulog), an economist said
on Sunday.

"President Abdurrahman cannot be blamed for what he did and he
can walk free," Arief R. Karseno, executive director of
Yogyakarta's Institute of Public Policy and Economic Study
(Inspect), told The Jakarta Post after a media briefing on
central bank issues at Santika Hotel in Yogyakarta.

"And in this case, the victims are lower ranked officials who
took orders from Gus Dur," he said, referring to Abdurrahman by
his nickname.

He said the information revealed by the scandal was not true,
as the police investigation had deviated from the real issue.

"The problem is in the system. The Bulog scandal merely shows
that throughout these years Bulog has been 'a piggy bank' ready
to be cashed in at anytime the government needed money," Karseno
said.

He said such practices had been going on well before the
recent Rp 35 billion scandal made headlines.

"Right now what we need is a strict regulation on budget
disbursement. This is important to avoid possible fraud,"
Karseno, an economist at Gadjah Mada University, added.

Sacked deputy Bulog chairman Sapuan told a hearing with the
House of Representatives Commission III for agriculture and
plantations on June 2 that he agreed to disburse the Rp 35
billion from Bulog's employees foundation Yanatera after he was
directly asked by President Abdurrahman during a meeting on Jan.
7.

A. Tony Prasetiantono, also an economist at Gadjah Mada
University, separately said the Bulog scandal had discouraged
business investment in the country.

"Business communities are taking a wait-and-see stance since
there is lack of legal certainty here. Their trust is
diminishing.

"Many of them also wonder how much longer Gus Dur's
administration will survive, especially in facing the upcoming
General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly," Tony said
while addressing a seminar on the economy at the private Slamet
Riyadi University in Surakarta, Central Java, on Saturday.

Tony cited as an example the sharp drop in the JSX Composite
Index from 720 points to 480 points and the plunging of the
rupiah's exchange rate, which went as low as Rp 8,700 per U.S.
dollar in the past few weeks.

"Politically, Gus Dur is considered a legitimate leader as he
has lots of supporters, but his lack of capability in handling
economic matters adds to this the country's pile of problems," he
said.

In a related development, Bulog's employees foundation
Yanatera has filed a complaint with the police against former
Bulog deputy chairman Sapuan for deceiving the foundation out of
Rp 35 billion.

The foundation also announced on Saturday a plan to file a Rp
1 trillion lawsuit this week if Sapuan fails to return in full
the Rp 35 billion plus 18 percent annual interest.

Sapuan is one of the two main suspects in the Bulog scam in
which members of the President's inner circle have been
implicated. The other is Suwondo, the President's masseur who
reportedly received the Rp 35 billion from Sapuan.

While Sapuan is being detained, Suwondo is still at large.

Sapuan has told investigators that he turned to Yanatera for
the money, believing that Suwondo was acting on the President's
behalf when he asked Bulog for humanitarian aid for Aceh.

Yanatera lawyer Juniver Girsang told a media conference on
Saturday that Sapuan had lied to the foundation's officials.

"He told my clients the fund would be used for humanitarian
purposes in Aceh, and that the request had come directly from the
President," he said, adding that he was acting on behalf of
Yanatera deputy chairman Mulyono, secretary Djaborotan Nasution
and finance director Asep Permana.

Mulyono is also a suspect in the case for approving the fund
disbursement.

Juniver said he filed the complaint with the police on Friday,
invoking Article 378 of the Criminal Code on deceiving other
people. The offense carries a maximum four-year jail term.

Suwondo has already been charged by the police under the 1999
corruption law, which carries a maximum jail term of 20 years.

Juniver said Sapuan told the foundation executives that the
President would sign a receipt for the entire Rp 35 billion.

"The receipt was signed by Suwondo instead," he said.

As it transpired, the Rp 35 billion fund was given out to
several people who had nothing to do with Aceh humanitarian
programs.

Police have so far retrieved Rp 15 billion of the money.
Suwondo's wife returned Rp 10 billion in cash last week, while
Siti Farika, a Semarang businesswoman and an acquaintance of the
President, returned Rp 5 billion, also in cash.

Politician Suko Sudarso of the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle handed over titles to a huge tract of land in Cianjur,
which he said had been bought by Suwondo for Rp 15 billion.
(06/swa/har/edt)