Leaked conversation is mostly obscure

JAKARTA (JP): The content of a purported conversation between President B.J. Habibie and Attorney General Andi M. Ghalib -- leaked by a number of media on Thursday -- did not appear to have compromised either official or state secrets for that matter.

Based on a transcript printed by Pandji Masyarakat, the conversation appeared vague, full of incomplete sentences and interruptions -- typical in telephone talks. The sentences were at times incomprehensible to anyone but the two persons involved.

Essentially, the person who sounded like Habibie was asking questions about the progress of investigations against Jusuf Wanandi of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies and oil tycoon Arifin Panigoro, two staunch critics of the President.

They discussed arrangements which Ghalib had made for the investigation of former president Soeharto -- whom both men reverently referred to as Bapak (father).

They concurred that the investigation should continue rather than allowing him to be tried by the "people's court".

The person purported to be Ghalib explained his unsuccessful attempt to deceive the public about the venue for the Soeharto investigation, because it was announced on TVRI in the morning.

Soeharto's questioning -- on Dec. 9 -- lasted three hours, compared to seven or eight hours for some of his cronies like tycoon 'Bob' Hasan. "If we had held it for only two hours, people would be wondering what other comedy we were staging," the man who sounded like Ghalib said, according to the transcript.

Ghalib and Habibie have been accused of dragging their feet in investigating Soeharto and of diverting public attention by launching investigations against some of the government's staunchest critics like Panigoro.

Based on the replay of the tape by ANteve on Thursday, the voices sounded like Habibie and Ghalib, indicating that it was either authentic, or it was the work of a truly great impersonator.

Media attention turned to Butet Kertarejasa, who has the rare talent of impersonating major public figures. His victims in the past have included Soeharto, Habibie and House speaker Harmoko.

But in an interview with the state radio Pro2FM on Thursday, Butet said the voice in the recording did not reflect his style.

"If I were to do it, I would affect style and accents and whatnot, in a theatrical fashion," he said, as reported by Antara. (emb)