Legislator accused of illegal logging

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Non-governmental organizations urged legal authorities on Wednesday to look into possible links that legislator Abdul Rasyid had with an illegal-logging syndicate in Kalimantan.

The call came after Navy troops seized three foreign-flagged ships on Sunday in Tanjung Priok harbor, Jakarta, for attempting to smuggle 25,000 cubic meters of logs worth Rp 40 billion (US$4 million) from Central Kalimantan.

A document found in one of the impounded ships showed that a logging company owned by Rasyid was involved in the latest case of illegal logging, according to the Indonesian Environmental Investigation Agency and Telapak Indonesia.

In a joint statement issued on Wednesday, the two organizations demanded a thorough probe into the involvement of the legislator from Golkar Party in the smuggling case.

"From the data we have gathered since last year, we have found that PT Lingga Marintama, owned by Abdul Rasyid, had been involved in illegal logging in 1999 in Tanjung Puting National Park (in Central Kalimantan)," Telapak's Hapsoro said, as quoted in the statement.

He said the government should uncover the syndicate in order to find the chief culprits. "We hope that the government is willing to probe the involvement of Abdul Rasyid."

The two groups also applauded the seizure of the three ships, currently detained at Tanjung Priok.