Influential children: The debate continues

JAKARTA (JP): The current debate over the business activities of the children of senior government officials has spawned theories about what really lies behind the controversy.

According to one political analyst, the debate is linked to the prospect of President Soeharto relinquishing power in 1998, while the son of once-powerful former state intelligence chief Yoga Sugomo says officials' children are merely "intermediate targets".

The issue is no longer as simple as whether or not the children of senior officials should be allowed to go into business, says Suhardiman, chairman of the SOKSI, a powerful mass organization closely linked with Golkar, the ruling political group.

"The critics, in launching the debate, have longer-term objectives, especially in view of the imminent national leadership succession," he said in Semarang, Central Java, on Sunday.

"I'm sure this and other controversies will continue to roll in between now and 1998," said the former Army general who is known for his controversial political ideas and analysis.

"They will continue to create a situation pitting the people against the government to promote the idea that the government is not clean," Suhardiman said.

Meanwhile, Bambang Riyadi Sugomo, Yoga's son and a successful businessman, was quoted in an interview published in yesterday's edition of Forum magazine as saying that critics of the businesses of officials' children had other objectives in mind.

"In my opinion, (the children of officials) are simply intermediate targets, to divert people's attention," he said.

Bambang is quoted as saying that the controversy served as a smoke screen to hide some of the more pressing problems in Indonesia that remain unresolved, such as the establishment of anti-trust laws.

Asked whether he thought the business activities of officials' children should be controlled, he responded: "No, what more do you want. There regulations are there. They don't ban the children of officials from becoming entrepreneurs. If they try to ban us, I will object, although I'm now the offspring of a former official.

Monopoly

"What should be resolved is the legislation against monopoly, on the protection of small entrepreneurs. Why can't they finish those?

"Because they cannot resolve the big problems, they are trying to create a diversion. Why aren't they attacking the conglomerates instead?"

The controversy over the business activities of the children of senior government officials began last week, when a number of legislators raised the issue during a hearing with Attorney General Singgih. They asked Singgih whether there was a regulation that banned officials' children from going into business, and whether he thought some form of control was necessary.

Government officials have responded that no such regulation is necessary, but have stressed that entrepreneurs should not abuse the positions of their parents.

Afan Gaffar, a political analyst at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, said yesterday the debate was another indication of the weaknesses of the Indonesian political system, which, he said, does not encourage frank and open discussion of certain politically-sensitive issues.

Afan said he believed that those who raised the issue were not approaching the question simply from the point of view of legal formalities. They were also looking at the ethical dimensions, he said.

"These children have never had any prior business experience. But when their parents hold senior positions, they became entrepreneurs. Not only that, their businesses skyrocket so fast that their presence is strongly felt by the people. Of course this raises questions," he said.

The political system in Indonesia had not allowed for an open discussion about "who gets what, how and when", Afan said.

One example, he said, was the granting of the contract to build an integrated transport terminal in Manggarai, South Jakarta, when the traffic conditions in the capital were already very congested.

In the absence of transparency, there were always questions that went unanswered, Afan said, such as why the contract was awarded to a particular entrepreneur, how they planned to finance the big project, how some people had no difficulty in obtaining huge bank loans while others were refused them.

According to Afan, the lack of transparency opens the way for collusion between government officials and entrepreneurs and the existing control mechanisms are too weak to prevent it. (har/emb)