'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)