Info from Mar'ie awaited for graft probe

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The chairman of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI), Mar'ie Muhammad, failed to give information to the Jakarta Police on Monday on the PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia (RNI) Rp 520 billion (US$62 million) graft case which occurred during his tenure as minister of finance.

"He did not come today. We expect to get more data from him this week," said the Jakarta Police corruption crime unit chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Anton Wahono.

PMI Secretary-General Iyang D. Sukandar, said Mar'ie had left last week for a seminar in Teheran to obtain information on how Indonesia could best help Iranian earthquake victims.

"Mar'ie is scheduled to come back on Thursday," said Iyang.

Mar'ie reported to the headquarters as a witness last Tuesday. At that time, police asked him to return on Monday as he was not ready to provide detailed data relating to the case.

"This is an old case. Time is needed to prepare the relevant documents. We don't want to rush to declare the suspects in the case. What we can do is collect all the data available," said Anton.

The scandal emerged in 1998, when Indonesia was experiencing an economic crisis. The government established the Investment Funds Account (RDI) using a loan from the World Bank to support state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The minister of finance controlled the account.

PT RNI, one of the SOEs, with a core business in sugar supply, submitted a proposal asking for Rp 520 billion. The proposal said the funds would be used to provide cheap medicine nationwide. The proposal was approved and PT RNI was allocated the money. However, the company could not pay the funds back by the required deadline.

The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), which examined the case, found irregularities in the disbursement process, from the account to PT RNI, and inside the company itself. BPK reported these findings to the police.

Anton said the police would investigate PT RNI's director at the time of the scandal. One name linked to the scandal is former PT RNI director, identified as Hussein S.