House urges Sugiharto to curb corruption

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Lawmakers questioned State Minister of State Enterprises Sugiharto on Tuesday about his seriousness in tackling corruption at the ministry and in the country's 158 state-owned enterprises.

In the first meeting between the minister and the House of Representatives Commission VI overseeing trade, industry, and SOEs, at least five legislators questioned the integrity of Sugiharto, his deputies and the candidates he proposed for senior posts.

Yusron Wachid, of the Golkar Party, urged Sugiharto to explain allegations of misconduct from an incident in 1999 when he was the chief financial officer of publicly listed energy firm PT Medco Energi Internasional.

"Sugiharto needs to be perceived as a clean figure with high integrity in order for him to effectively lead the fight against corruption. He also should also clarify the situation regarding allegations of misconduct," Yusron said.

"We do not want the management of our SOEs falling into the wrong hands," he said.

Rakyat Merdeka earlier this month reported that Sugiharto was accused of involvement in a fictitious transfer of shares by a foreign-owned company, John Koh & Co.

The problem was settled with both parties agreed to an out-of- court settlement before the case was taken to court in Singapore.

Sugiharto has played down the reports of a dispute and said such allegations had come from people aiming to discredit him.

He is expected to provide the commission with a written report about the matter later this week.

Efiyardi Asda, of the United Development Party, said Sugiharto should immediately dismiss his current deputies, who were allegedly involved in graft offenses, if he wanted to set a good example of clean governance.

"I have received reports that the current deputies have been involved in corrupt practices. It is public knowledge these officials have often received "levies" from the management of state port operators," Efiyardi said.

Many of the country's SOEs have long been poorly managed and deliver low rates of return on investment and equity due to interference by political interests, which illegally siphon off money from the businesses.

Idealisman Dachi of the Democratic-Pioneer-Star party faction warned Sugiharto that all new deputies should be scrutinized so as to ensure the SOEs were managed honestly.

"There is a report that some of the proposed deputies are those who have a close links with a corrupt former economic minister from the New Order regime.

"We would be deeply concerned if this report proved to be true," Idealisman said.

SOEs with largest losses in 2003

No. SOEs Net losses (in millions of rupiah)
1. Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) 3,558,348
2. Perusahaan Perdagangan Indonesia 418,224
3. Pelni 382,446
4. PANN Multi Finance 152,258
5. Indofarma 129,570
6. Industri Sandang Nusantara 114,772
7. Kertas Kraft Aceh 108,442
8. PTPN II 96,166
9. Inhutani I 90,972
10. Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital 81,221

Source: Office of State Enterprises