Manimaren buried, mystery remains

Manimaren buried, mystery remains

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The death of businessman Marimutu Manimaren, who apparently
committed suicide by jumping out of s 56th floor window of a
hotel on Tuesday, is still shrouded in mystery.

Relatives and friends of Manimaren, who was buried on
Wednesday at the Kedung Kandang cemetery in Ciganjur, South
Jakarta, were still stunned by the news of the death of the
younger brother of Marimutu Sinivasan, the owner of the country's
largest textile company, PT Texmaco Jaya Group.

Manimaren's brother, Marimutu Ganesan, said that committing
suicide would have been entirely out of character for Manimaren,
who was known to be cheerful, strong and resilient.

Ganesan, however, admitted his brother had been under pressure
recently due to media reports on the Texmaco group.

Doubts were also raised by Golkar Party deputy secretary Bomer
Pasaribu, who said that Manimaren, a Golkar Party deputy
treasurer, was not a person who would easily succumb to
depression or give up hope.

"The police should conduct a through investigation into
Manimaren's death so that no questions would be left lingering
over the incident," said Bomer, who once served as manpower
minister.

Previously, senior Golkar Party member A.A. Baramuli also cast
doubt on the suggestion that Manimaren had committed suicide.

"He was a very dynamic person. I doubt he would do such a
thing," said the former South Sulawesi governor after visiting
the morgue.

However, Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tandjung urged the public
not to question the reasons behind Manimaren's death.

"About the possibility of murder, there is no need for us to
engage in such wild speculation. It's all in God almighty's
hands. Perhaps, this was His scenario," Akbar was quoted by the
Detik.com news portal as saying.

On Wednesday, hundreds of people, mostly Golkar activists and
Texmaco employees, paid their last respects at the graveside.

Manimaren's wife and two children, who are living in the
United States, did not attend the ceremony.

Manimaren, 46, reportedly committed suicide by jumping from
the 56th floor of the Aston Hotel in South Jakarta.

The police, however, will have difficulties in convincing the
sceptics as no message from Manimaren was found in his deluxe
suite, which costs Rp 950,000 (US$112) per night.

Manimaren chaired three textile companies which appear to have
no direct link to Texmaco. The companies are PT Ungaran Sari
Garments in Ungaran, Central Java; PT Citra Abadi Sejati and PT
Busana Perkasa Garments, both located in Bogor, some 60
kilometers south of Jakarta.

Communications director for PT Texmaco Jaya, Nina Larasati,
said that Manimaren did not hold any position in the company.

The Texmaco Group owes some US$29 million to Bank BNI and
another Rp 29 trillion ($3.4 billion) to the Indonesia Bank
Restructuring Agency (IBRA).