I'm not responsible for use of Bulog funds: Akbar

I'm not responsible for use of Bulog funds: Akbar

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Akbar Tandjung has refused
to take responsibility for Rp 40 billion in State Logistics
Agency (Bulog) funds he channeled to little-known Raudhlatul
Jannah Islamic Foundation, saying the funds were solely the
responsibility of the foundation.

"The Rp 40 billion in Bulog funds is no longer my
responsibility but that of the foundation," Akbar said on the
sidelines of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)'s Annual
Session in Jakarta on Sunday.

He also maintained on Sunday that he was never in possession
of Bulog funds or checks and that he merely witnessed the handing
over of checks totaling Rp 40 billion to the foundation in 1999.

"The handing over of these checks was done in my office, and
all I did was witness it," Akbar said.

He did not explain how Raudhlatul Jannah foundation was
selected or why the checks were handed over in his office since
the Office of the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare and
Poverty Eradication was in charge of distributing relief to the
people most affected by the economic crisis.

Former Bulog chairman Rahardi Ramelan, the prime suspect in a
Rp 54.6 billion scandal, said earlier that Akbar took Rp 40
billion of the amount and former military commander Gen. (ret)
Wiranto received Rp 10 billion.

According to Rahardi, Akbar asked for Rp 40 billion from
Bulog, but was told that the agency did not have sufficient cash
to hand over the Rp 40 billion all at once. Bulog and Akbar later
agreed to hand over the amount in two stages.

The first payment was made in April 1999 totaling Rp 20
billion in the form of two checks with a nominal value of Rp 10
billion each. The second payment was made in September 1999, with
Akbar allegedly asking Rahardi to issue four checks of Rp 2
billion each and three checks of Rp 4 billion each.

Rahardi did not explain why Akbar asked him to issue checks of
different nominal value.

According to Akbar, the checks were handed over by Bulog's
deputy chief of finance Ruskandar and received directly by Dadang
Sukandar as chairman of the foundation.

"As the state/Cabinet secretary at the time, I approved the
hand over of the funds to the foundation to purchase basic
commodities. The project was part of the government's
humanitarian aid. This, of course, was in line with the
recommendation given by the Office of the Coordinating Minister
for Social Welfare and Poverty Eradication," Akbar said.

Former coordinating minister for social welfare and poverty
eradication Haryono Suyono denied recommending any foundation to
Akbar to distribute basic commodities to people suffering most
from the prolonged economic crisis that struck Indonesia in 1997.

On Saturday, Dadang acknowledged that he had received Rp 40
billion from former state/Cabinet secretary Akbar, who is also
chairman of the Golkar Party, the second biggest faction in both
the MPR and the DPR.

"It's true that I received checks worth Rp 40 billion directly
from a Bulog official. The funds were used to purchase basic
commodities which were distributed to people most affected by the
economic crisis," Dadang told the media.

Dadang, however, said that the foundation was only involved in
supervising the program while the technical implementation of the
distribution had been entrusted to "experienced contractors".

He, nevertheless, failed to provide the names of these
contractors.

Dadang said his foundation and contractors distributed over
1.6 million food packages in 96 districts and 1,641 subdistricts
in East Java, Central Java, Jakarta, Yogyakarta and West Java.
Each package contained, among other things, instant noodles, rice
and sugar worth Rp 21,000, with a delivery cost of Rp 4,000 per
package.