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)