'Haryanto affair should be treated as criminal case'
'Haryanto affair should be treated as criminal case'
JAKARTA (JP): The alleged corruption perpetrated by Minister
of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto should be treated as purely
criminal case and prosecuted accordingly, a constitutional law
expert said.
Andi Muis of the Hasanuddin University in Ujungpandang, South
Sulawesi, said the Criminal Code Procedures make no distinction
whether a crime is committed by a layman or a government
official.
Andi admitted that, given that Haryanto is answerable to the
President, the procedures for his prosecution might differ, but
only in minor ways.
The Attorney General's office is under pressure to open an
investigation into the allegations, which surfaced last week
following the leak of classified government papers.
The documents suggested that the minister is being
investigated by Vice President Try Sutrisno.
So far the Attorney General's office has ruled out setting up
a special team, but said that it is monitoring the case.
Press reports outlined Haryanto's alleged misconduct,
including the removal of Anwar Supriyadi as president of state
railway company Perumka, which is under the ministry's
supervision, as a result of personal antipathy. They also alleged
the spending of US$244,000 belonging to national flag carrier
Garuda by Haryanto's wife during a trip to Europe, and the use of
$1.2 million to pay for his son Kikik's racing hobby in the
United States. The reports said the minister expected Garuda to
pay for his travels, but rarely used Garuda itself. There were
also allegations that state enterprises under the ministry were
regularly asked to pay special levies that do not appear in the
ministry's books.
Haryanto on Monday went to see Try for the third time over the
affair and was told to wait for a summon from President Soeharto.
Allegations
Andi said these allegations should be proven in court.
He said that given the heat the media publicity has generated,
the Attorney General's Office should begin the investigation
without waiting for a green light from someone higher up.
On the question of leaking classified document, Andi said that
under article 322 of the criminal code, those found guilty for
the crime could face a maximum of jail term of nine months.
The mass media that first published the leaked documents are
also liable for criminal prosecution, he said.
Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono, who has since confirmed
the investigation against Haryanto, has ordered for a separate
investigation on how the memos from the Inspector General for
Development, Kentot Harseno, intended for President Soeharto were
leaked and found their way to newspapers.
Harseno's three reports ran details of the alleged misconducts
that had been reported to him by the first echelon of the
ministry.
A political observer said the scandal is not likely to affect
the standing of the Association of Indonesian Moslem
Intellectuals (ICMI) or Golkar, the ruling political group.
Haryanto is a leading member of both organizations.
"This is Haryanto's personal case," Affan Gafar of the Gadjah
Mada University in Yogyakarta said. "It's got nothing to do with
ICMI because his appointment to the cabinet was not related to
ICMI."
Affan said that in the wake of the scandal, it would be better
for the other members of the cabinet to come clean and declare
their wealth to the public.
Muladi of the Diponegoro University in Semarang stressed the
need for everyone to keep the entire affair in perspective and
treat it as a mere legal issue, and remove the political
elements.
The question of whether or not Haryanto should resign should
be decided by President Soeharto alone, he said.
Muladi agreed that the case should be brought to court. "Let
the court decide whether he is innocent or guilty." (imn/har)