Laksamana files a police complaint against Amien

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The political conflict between State Minister of State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi and People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais reached new heights on Friday when Laksamana reported Amien to the police charging him with defamation.

Laksamana's lawyers, including Didi Irawadi Syamsuddin and Poltak Hutajulu, filed the complaint in response to Amien's statement labeling the minister as "a foreign agent" who had committed the "ultimate crime against the nation."

"We reported Pak Amien to the police as he has refused to comply with legal notification given by Pak Laksamana for him to apologize," Didi told reporters.

Didi said that Laksamana would also file a civil lawsuit against Amien at the South Jakarta District Court.

Amien, also chairman of the National Mandate Party, has often criticized the privatization policy of the government. However, what angered Laksamana was Amien's statement published by Forum Keadilan weekly, in which Amien accused a Cabinet member of being a foreign agent who had committed the ultimate crime against the nation.

Although Amien did not mention any name in the interview, he was clearly referring to Laksamana, who is also a leading figure in the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.

Laksamana, through his lawyers, then sent notification to Amien asking him to make a public apology for his statement.

Amien, however, refused and instead challenged Laksamana to take the case to court. Amien contended that Laksamana should apologize to the nation for selling public assets cheaply.

Didi, however, said that the court should decide, who must make an apology.

In response to the complaint, Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara revealed that police might face a snag in questioning Amien.

"We are ready to follow up the complaint if all necessary evidence and witnesses are complete... But, the problem is that we face a regulation that requires us to ask for the President's approval before questioning legislators," Makbul told reporters.

Political analysts said earlier that the legal battle between Amien and Laksamana was politically motivated in view of the nearing 2004 elections. The strife might be part of Amien's early campaign to run for the presidency in the 2004 election or Amien's discontent over the Indonesian Democratic Party's methods of raising funds for campaigning.