Legislators reluctant to question Akbar

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Fears that legislators in the House of Representatives would not be serious about investigating corruption allegations against House Speaker Akbar Tandjung became a reality on Monday, when only 49 of the 500 House members showed up on time for the plenary meeting convened to hear justifications offered by 50 legislators on the urgency of setting up an inquiry team to investigate the Golkar chairman.

The poor showing, which clearly demonstrated the legislators' reluctance to investigate Akbar, a suspect in a Rp 40 billion financial scandal involving State Logistics Agency (Bulog), prompted House Deputy Speaker Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) to delay the plenary meeting for 30 minutes.

Monday's plenary meeting was originally scheduled to start at 9 a.m., but at 9:02 a.m., only 49 legislators were present in the plenary hall.

When Soetardjo eventually opened the meeting at 9:30 a.m., only 254 legislators were around, barely enough for a quorum of 250, or half of the total 500 legislators in the House.

Speaking on behalf of the 50 legislators who filed the petition to set up an inquiry team, Tari Siwi Utami of the National Awakening Party said that an inquiry committee was definitely needed to unravel the alleged misappropriation of the Bulog money.

The 10-page explanation does not mention Akbar's name or other figures who had been declared suspects in this scandal by the Attorney General's Office. It only mentions former president B.J. Habibie who ordered then Bulog chief Rahardi Ramelan to release Rp 54.6 billion.

"The misappropriation allegedly involves former government officials and businessmen, ignoring existing procedures and using the social safety net program for justification," Tari said.

Rahardi, the prime suspect in the Rp 54.6 billion scandal, alleged that Akbar received Rp 40 billion of the funds. Akbar admitted "receiving" the funds, but insisted that the funds were directly channeled to a little-known foundation.

While the meeting was going on in the plenary hall, dozens of Akbar's supporters belonging to the Movement of Reform Fighters, or Gempur, protested outside the legislative complex, rejecting moves by House members to investigate Akbar.

At around 1:15 p.m., hundreds of students arrived at the front gate of the compound, demanding House members to form a special inquiry team.

The students also demanded that Golkar be disbanded.

"It is really shameful if Akbar, who has been clearly declared a suspect in a corruption case, still remains the speaker of the House of Representatives, a very respected institution. He should have been removed and subjected to the legal process immediately after he was declared a suspect," student leader Ahmad Muzakir said.

Hundreds of students belonging to the Students Executive Council from Java and Bali also expressed similar demands. The students, who came from the University of Indonesia, the Jakarta State University and the Bogor Agricultural Institute, said that an inquiry team was required to fight against corruption.

Tari emphasized that the investigation in the House would be a political process not a legal one. It is aimed at finding out data, facts and the details of the corrupt practices in the country.

She added that after the inquiry team was established its findings would politically benefit the government of President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

"The findings will give political support to the government, especially to the apparatus in legal affairs for law enforcement," Tari said.

Speaking to the press after the meeting, several legislators gave a somewhat cool response to their peers' justification speeches. They simply said they would monitor the legal process currently proceeding at the Attorney General's Office.

Even though Akbar and other figures have been declared suspects, it is no assurance that the case will proceed fairly.

"We all know that the Attorney General is appointed by Ibu Megawati. It would be odd if she did not trust the Attorney General," said Pramono Anung of the largest party in the House, PDI Perjuangan.

PDI Perjuangan had been expected to fully support the inquiry into the scandal, but it seems now as if it is favoring the legal process at the Attorney General's Office.

Golkar's Priyo Budi Santoso, who rejected the plan, reiterated that the plan to form an inquiry team was no longer relevant because the case was currently being handled by the Attorney General's Office.

"We will appeal to fellow legislators to review their proposal," he said.

Alvin Lie, a Legislator from the Reform faction, meanwhile said the process would take about one month, therefore he would use the time monitoring the progress at the Attorney General's Office.

"We have not yet made a final decision. We will follow the process either at the House or at the Attorney General's Office," said Alvin, who was a chief figure in the inquiry team which resulted in the ouster of president Abdurrahman Wahid.

The 10 factions in the House will later raise comments over the explanation, but the exact schedule has not been determined yet. According to Soetardjo, the steering committee will decide the schedule on Thursday.