Kahfi to fill vacant city post

Kahfi to fill vacant city post

JAKARTA (JP): Deputy Governor for Administrative affairs Abdul
Kahfi will temporarily take over the position of head of the city
inspectorate office, currently held by Sutardjianto, who has been
detained for his alleged involvement in a Rp 2.6 billion land
scam, an official said on Tuesday.

The city secretary's assistant for administrative affairs,
Ma'mun Amin, said Kahfi would hold the position for only about
one month.

"After that we will choose a permanent official," he told
reporters at City Hall.

Governor Sutiyoso said on Monday that Sutardjianto, who is
being detained at Salemba Penitentiary, automatically became
inactive as head of the inspectorate office as soon as he was
suspected of being involved in the corruption case.

Sutardjianto, the former West Jakarta mayor, was arrested on
Friday afternoon after being questioned about his involvement in
land sales in 1996. The sale of two city-owned 1.9-hectare plots
of land in West Jakarta reportedly enriched him by Rp 2.6
billion.

The suspect's lawyer, Luhut M. Pangaribuan, said on Tuesday he
had submitted that morning a formal request for Sutardjianto's
release to the head of the West Jakarta prosecutor's office.

"The detention status will then be up to the authority," he
said.

City councilors and a lawyer urged the Jakarta Prosecutor's
Office on Monday to question Kahfi, the head of the city's reform
team, for his suspected attempts to conceal the alleged land scam
involving Sutardjianto.

Contacted separately by The Jakarta Post on Monday, lawyer
Apong Herlina from the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute and several
councilors said Kahfi and his team had to be questioned because
they previously declared Sutardjianto cleared of all charges.

Apong said those guilty of covering up crimes could be
sentenced as stipulated in prevailing laws on corruption.

"In this case, the reform team can be said to have been
involved in the crime," she said.

Supporting Apong, councilor Ali Imran Husein also suspected
that certain administration officials had a hidden agenda, namely
to smear Governor Sutiyoso's reputation.

"The city officials should have known of Sutardjianto's
corruption case when he was West Jakarta mayor. Why then did they
recommended him as head of the inspectorate?" Ali questioned.
(ind)