House factions intensify lobbying over scandal report

JAKARTA (JP): Lobbying by factions inside the House of Representatives intensified on Friday, as Monday's deadline for the submission of the report of the special committee investigating the Bulog and Brunei scandals looms.

As of Friday night, the 50 committee members had yet to reach a consensus on formulating crucial points in the report which is due to be discussed at a closed-door House plenary session on Monday. The 10 factions are due to present their respective views on the report at a public session on Thursday.

Didi Supriyanto, deputy chairman of the special committee, said lobbying was being conducted after the committee failed to reach a consensus on the draft report which examines the President Abdurrahman Wahid's alleged involvement in the fraudulent disbursement of Rp 35 billion from the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) foundation and in the Bruneigate affair.

"The committee may resort to a vote because the drafting of the report on the findings of the investigation into the two scandals must be completed tonight," the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) legislator told The Jakarta Post by telephone on Friday night.

He added that so far the committee had yet to even discuss the draft report on the investigation into the Bruneigate affair.

The Golkar party's Ade Komaruddin, who is also a member of the special committee, revealed that the most controversial point was deciding how President Abdurrahman Wahid's role should be presented in report.

"Many want to mention the President's alleged involvement in the draft report while others reject this," he said.

Several factions also held their own meetings to prepare their respective political stances on the committee's report.

PDI Perjuangan chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri reportedly asked party legislators at a meeting in PDI Perjuangan headquarters on Friday to work out a compromise without going through a vote.

"The nation has numerous problems that must be solved by deliberation and not through voting. Whether we should consume tempeh or tahu (soybean curd) should not be decided through voting," Postdam Hutasoit quoted Megawati as saying.

According to Postdam, Megawati described the two scandals as being part of thousands in the country, and said that the legislators should put the national interest first when arriving at their decision.

Separately, the head of the PDI Perjuangan faction in the People's Consultative Assembly, Sophan Sophiaan, said that a separate team to formulate the party's stance on the findings of the special committee had been set up.

When asked, he denied the suggestion that the team had been set up because the executive board no longer trusted its representatives on the committee.

"No, no, it doesn't mean we don't trust them. We just feel they've been involved for too long with the special committee... In an effort to gain an objective view, we thought it was necessary to set up the team," Sophan said.

Syamsul Muarif, chairman of the Golkar Party faction, said his faction would call for court proceedings if the President was found to be involved in scandals by the special committee.

"That's our faction's political stance as recommended by the faction meeting today," he said.

Bachtiar Chamsyah, a member of the United Development Party (PPP) faction, reiterated that his faction has supported a thorough investigation into the two scandals.

"Let say its white if it's white, and black if it's black," he remarked.

Abdul Khaliq Achmad, secretary of Abdurrahman's National Awakening Party (PKB) faction, said his faction was fighting an all out battle to prevent the special committee from specifically fingering the President in its report, as such an eventuality would jeopardize national unity.

"If the special committee declares the President guilty in the scandals, it has actually usurped the role of the courts as, in fact, the Bulog scandal is still being tried by the courts," he said.

Khalig Achmad warned that such a report would give rise to new tensions, this time between the legislature and the judiciary, along with terrible societal conflict at the grassroots level. (rms)