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