House fails to set up own inquiry on Bulog scandal
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia's efforts to seek justice against House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung for his alleged involvement in a high-profile financial scandal encountered yet another setback on Monday.
After an arduous and time-consuming plenary session, chaired by House deputy speaker Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno, members of the House of Representatives failed once more to establish the committee of inquiry into the financial scandal, known by its Indonesian acronym, Pansus.
Most of the major factions, including the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), Golkar, and the United Development Party (PPP), as well as the Indonesian Military/National Police faction, agreed to delay the plan to set up the committee until the fourth House meeting.
The current House session is scheduled to convene until March 28, and be followed by a recess.
Three smaller factions -- Crescent Star, Indonesian Nationhood, and Love the Nation Democratic Party -- agreed, but with objection notes.
Legislators of the National Awakening Party (PKB) also demanded that a decision be made during the session, regardless of how to do it, but they finally agreed with the delay too.
PDI Perjuangan is the largest faction at the House with 153 seats, followed by Golkar Party with 120 seats, PPP with 58 seats, PKB with 51 seats.
The session started at 1:34 p.m. after an endorsement of the bill on the ratification of a treaty on space exploration during the morning session, which was marked by a number of pauses to enable faction members to make lobbies.
At 8:20 p.m., the session was re-opened, with faction leaders giving three alternatives -- a decision which had to be taken during the session, a delay until May 7, and an agreement to delay but, with an objection.
The session closed at 10:23 p.m.
The earlier delay was made on March 7, when the House wanted to allow the Attorney General's Office to speed up its investigation into the case.
Golkar insisted earlier that the faction would vote against the plan to set up the inquiry committee into Akbar, who is Golkar's leader, on the grounds that the Pansus was irrelevant now that the case was being handled by the Attorney General's Office.
Golkar, the second-largest faction in the House, has been successful in delaying the establishment of the inquiry committee, which would investigate state officials involved in the misuse of Rp 40 billion belonging to the State Logistics Agency (Bulog).
Akbar is now in the custody of the Attorney General's Office, pending the trial of his case, to start on March 25.
Akbar, a former minister/state secretary, claimed to have been ordered by then president B.J. Habibie in 1999 to use the money from Bulog to pay for the distribution of food to the poor.
Many legislators have perceived their speaker to be a liability and suggest that he quit his post because he is no longer "fit and proper" to lead the legislative body due to his alleged involvement in the scandal.
Yet despite widespread demand and pressure, not only from certain political parties but also many in society, Akbar refuses to step down, stating that based on the presumption of innocence, being a suspect does not mean he is proven guilty.
Golkar, a political bandwagon of former dictator Soeharto, is trying to avoid a House inquiry committee because of its possible damaging and humiliating ramifications to Akbar's political future and the very existence of the party itself.
Some 3,000 students from various universities staged a protest rally in support for the formation of the inquiry into the scandal.
Upon their arrival at the House at around 10 a.m., they encountered hundreds of Golkar supporters, who were also staging a protest at the entrance to the House compound. The supporters demanded that legislators not establish the special committee.
The motion to form the Pansus was submitted by 50 inter- faction legislators last October. The steering committee had even failed to arrange a date for a House plenary session to hear the motion, which eventually materialized on Feb. 21.
By contrast, legislators needed only about three weeks to set up a similar inquiry committee to investigate the involvement of then-president Abdurrahman Wahid into the misuse of Rp 35 billion belonging to Bulog, and US$2 million in humanitarian aid from Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.