House members question Sudjana's appointments

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Mines and Energy I.B. Sudjana, who has been cleared by the President from the controversy over why he ordered a transfer of coal funds, was subject yesterday to another wave of tough questions from House members.

Soenarjo Hadade, a member of House Commission VI for mines, energy and industry, questioned the legitimacy of Sudjana's decision last month to appoint his adviser, Poernomo Yusgiantoro, as the country's representative on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Board of Governors.

"The position of an OPEC governor is exofficio and should thus be held by a government official," Soenarjo argued.

Earlier last week, President Soeharto stopped the controversy over the transfer of Rp 50 billion in state funds from the state- owned PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam to the minister of mines and energy's account in arly 1994.

Soenarjo was quoted by Antara as saying yesterday that OPEC was a forum for governments and that appointees to it should be government officials or executives of state companies such as Pertamina.

"I wonder why an adviser to the minister who is not a government official has been appointed to the OPEC Board of Governors," said commission member T.H. Sitorus.

Soenarjo said Indonesia had always been represented on the OPEC board by the director general of oil and natural gas.

House members questioned why Sudjana gave his advisers so much power, citing complaints from the Ministry of Mines and Energy that the advisers had usurped official authority.

Several House members protested Sudjana last week at a commission hearing when he assigned his adviser, Adnan Ganto, to explain the latest developments in Bre-X's and Barrick's battle for the Busang gold mine in East Kalimantan.

House member Iskandar Mandji interrupted Ganto just before he delivered his speech to the commission, arguing that Ganto had no right to represent the Ministry of Mines and Energy at the House.

Other House members wondered why the explanations were not delivered by the director general of mines, the most senior official to give technical details.

Minister Sudjana said his advisers could legally speak for him because they were appointed by his decree.

"Moreover, I have reported (on the advisers) to the President," Sudjana asserted at last week's hearing.

Adnan Ganto was a bank executive in Britain before he was recruited to join Sudjana's team of advisers. Poernomo was an executive of Redecon, an energy consultancy in Jakarta. (vin)