Hamzah denies alleged swindle

Hamzah denies alleged swindle

JAKARTA: The United Development Party (PPP) chairman Hamzah
Haz denied allegations that he once received some Rp 25 billion
(US$2.5 million) of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) funds
from former president B.J. Habibie during the 1999 election
campaign period.

"The allegations are baseless. We will sue anybody that
spreads this false news if evidence of the accusation is not
found," Hamzah, who is also the Vice President, told journalists
after the closing ceremony of a National Resilience Institute
seminar on Wednesday.

When he was further pressed whether it was true that he
personally received another Rp 14 billion from Habibie, Hamzah
said that it had nothing to do with Bulog.

Hamzah claimed that the accusations did not effect his
position as the current Vice President.

A Golkar party member alleged earlier that most major parties
had received, and perhaps misused, money from Bulog. The misuse
of the Bulog funds, supposedly involving Golkar and its chairman
Akbar Tandjung, is currently under investigation by the Attorney
General's Office. --JP