Kunarto not to vie for top audit agency post

Kunarto not to vie for top audit agency post

JAKARTA (JP): Former national police chief Gen. (ret) Kunarto
has pulled his name from those being considered for the Supreme
Audit Agency's (BPK) top post in protest over what he perceived
as an effort by President B.J. Habibie to force a certain deputy
chairman on him.

His withdrawal leaves the field to only two nominees for
Habibie to appoint: former minister of finance Mar'ie Muhammad
and economist Zaki Baridwan.

Kunarto told The Jakarta Post yesterday he would be "unable"
to perform even if he was appointed. "It's a matter of
principle," Kunarto said.

Although Habibie has yet to issue any presidential decree on
his appointment, Kunarto said he had heard that support for him
to chair the agency had grown and "crystallized".

However, he could not agree with the planned appointment of
Rivai Siata to be the agency's deputy chairman.

Kunarto said his experience working with Rivai in the agency
for the past few years had led him to believe that he would never
be able to cooperate with him.

"I've told (Minister/State Secretary) Akbar Tanjung, that I
don't want Rivai to be the deputy chairman... but it seems that
(my wish) was ignored," said Kunarto, who had told Kompas he
disliked Rivai even though the man was close to Habibie and
hailed from the president's province of South Sulawesi.

"So, I'd rather withdraw from the shortlist... What's the use
of becoming chairman of an agency which is supposed to be
independent (from the state), if from the beginning you cannot
even have a say on who's to be your deputy," he added.

Kunarto argued that his predecessors in the past had had a
greater say than he did over who were to be their deputies.

"In this era of reform, this (the insistence of the government
to impose its choice of officials) is a setback," he said.

Last month, the House of Representatives approved the short-
listing of Kunarto, Mar'ie Muhammad and Zain Baridwan for the
post.

Executive members have run the agency collectively since
former chairman J.B. Sumarlin stepped down after reaching his
retirement age of 65 last December.

The House has also approved three others to be nominated to
fill the post of deputy chairman and 15 to be selected to sit on
the five-member executive board.

Those running for deputy chairman are Rivai Siata, currently a
member of the executive board; Bambang Wahyudi, an economics
lecturer at the Bandung-based Padjadjaran University; and Bambang
Triadji.

Prior to retiring, Sumarlin reported the agency had discovered
that the government had lost billions of rupiah due to poor
financial management over the second semester of the 1996/1997
fiscal year.

The losses were the result of 607 "irregularities" the agency
found in its audit of the state budget.

Sumarlin strongly suggested that the House revise the 1973 law
on the audit agency, saying it did not enable the agency to
follow up on its findings. (aan)