JAKARTA: Police investigators questioned on Wednesday former

JAKARTA: Police investigators questioned on Wednesday former
Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) chairman I Putu Gede
Ary Suta about his role in a high profile financial scandal.

National Police deputy spokesperson Brig. Gen. Soenarko
Ardanto said on Wednesday that Suta was questioned for seven
hours, during which police investigators asked 32 questions
related to some documents and procedures on the use of the so-
called Account No. 502.

The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) had alleged earlier that IBRA
and Bank Indonesia (BI) had misused funds totaling Rp 20.9
trillion from the Account No. 502 at BI.

Police investigators had said earlier that former BI Governor
Sjahril Sabirin, former IBRA chairmen Cacuk Sudarijanto and Suta
had already been declared suspects, but police said on Wednesday
that Suta was questioned as a witness.

Account 502 was created by the government to pay third party
funds in banks closed at the height of the economic crisis in
1998, but BI and IBRA had allegedly used part of the funds to
recapitalize banks under IBRA's custody. --JP

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Nurcholish meets Sultan
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Nurcholish meets Sultan

YOGYAKARTA: Muslim scholar and presidential hopeful Nurcholish
Madjid held a closed-door meeting with Sultan Hamengkubuwono X
late on Tuesday night.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting that lasted for
almost five hours until early Wednesday, Nurcholish, or Cak Nur,
as he is popularly known, said that there were a lot of ideas
discussed during the meeting.

"I learned a lot from the Sultan, especially regarding the
current governance crisis," said Cak Nur, adding that as one of
the Ciganjur Declaration leaders, the Sultan felt morally
responsible in guarding the course of the reform.

Cak Nur also said that the Sultan seemed to indicate during
the meeting that a new president was needed in the next
government, arguing that the current government had failed to
implement the reform movement's mandate. One of the indicators,
he said, was the weakness of the current government in handling
corruption, nepotism and collusion cases.

Cak Nur also said that he and the Sultan agreed that it was
not necessary to stop President Megawati Soekarnoputri from
competing in the upcoming presidential election.

"It entirely depends on the people's (voter's) judgment," he
said.

Both also agreed that whoever won the presidential election
should be treated as the one who had the right to govern the
country.

"We have to accept whoever wins the election, good or
bad," he said.

Indonesia will hold its first-ever direct presidential
election on July 5, 2004. Megawati, chairperson of the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), plans to run for
reelection. --JP

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U.S. considers RI access to Hambali
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U.S. considers RI access to Hambali

JAKARTA: The United States is seriously considering whether to
grant Indonesian investigators access to a key terror suspect
known as Hambali who was arrested in Thailand last year, the U.S.
ambassador said Wednesday.

"We are well aware of Indonesia's desire to have physical
access to him," Ralph Boyce told a group of Indonesians gathered
at the U.S. Embassy to listen to President George W. Bush's State
of the Union address.

"We will continue to consider the request for access very
seriously," Boyce said.

Bush mentioned Hambali in his address, listing the Indonesian
suspect's arrest as a victory in the U.S.-led war on terror.

Before he was arrested in Thailand in August, Hambali had been
identified as the alleged operations chief of Jamaah Islamiyah,
the al-Qaeda linked terror group blamed for a series of bombings
in Indonesia, including the Oct. 12, 2002 nightclub blasts in
Bali that killed 202 people.

The United States is holding Hambali and Indonesia has
repeatedly asked to see him, so far to no avail.

Indonesian investigators told the Associated Press that
Hambali, whose real name is Riduan Isamuddin, has been replaced
by a new operations chief, an Indonesian militant known as
Zulkarnaen. --AP