Media lifts lid on Tommy's love life

Media lifts lid on Tommy's love life

By Ahmad Junaidi

JAKARTA (JP): Ever heard the rumors about beautiful
celebrities that Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra has dated?

When his father, Soeharto, was the dreaded president of the
republic that's all they were, tittle-tattle confined to saucy
word of mouth like bedtime stories of yore.

But now, with a euphoric media enjoying unprecedented freedom,
the stories are printed and you can obtain copies freely on the
streets.

Young, fabulously rich, famous, smooth and, in some eyes,
handsome -- were characteristics that made Tommy a dream come
true for young women looking to enhance their celebrity as well
as enjoy a relationship.

Tabloids and magazines are no longer afraid of being charged
with insulting the first family for printing the stories and
paperboys in the streets don't worry about being arrested on the
usual charges of distributing material considered offensive to
the family.

Disclosures about Tommy's romantic escapades came hard on the
heels of the recent revelations of Soeharto's financial fortune,
estimated at anywhere between US$6 billion and US$40 billion.

Like those unraveling Soeharto's wealth, tabloids and
magazines splashing Tommy's love affairs across their covers
quickly became best sellers. And entrepreneurial newspaper boys
were soon selling photocopies of the stories.

Sinar Pagi tabloid, Warta Ekonomi and Prospek economic
magazines, Liberty gossip magazine and Sinar current affairs
magazine, are among those which have cashed in on Soeharto's fall
and run stories on the former strongman and his relatives.

Sinar and Liberty's recent editions on Tommy's love affairs
with famous singers, film starlets and models all sold out and
people hungry for the gossip were willing to pay between Rp 1,000
(6.5 U.S. cents) and Rp 3,000 for photocopies of the reports.

In their cover stories, the Jakarta-based Sinar and Surabaya-
based Liberty, told of how Tommy, now 36, dated well-known
celebrities before he eventually reined in his libido by marrying
Ardia "Tata" Pramesti Regita Cahyani, from an aristocratic
Surakarta (Solo) family, last year.

On the list of Tommy's conquests are, to name a few, pop
singer Maya Rumantir, model Indira Sudiro, TV star Nadya
Hutagalung, singer Nia Zulkarnain and film stars Kiki Fatmala,
Jenny Rachman, and Tamara Blezynski as well as senior celebrities
such as Ita Mustafa Gitty Srinita.

The magazines portray Tommy as a "good playboy" who would give
his lovers "substantial presents", such as luxury houses and
business projects, before they were dumped.

For example Sinar reported that Tommy entrusted Nia's company,
PT Adini Prima Multimedia, to handle the advertising for his
controversial Timor car project. Timor has practically gone
bankrupt since the government revoked its tax privileges.

Ita Mustafa, according to Sinar, which has printed pictures of
Tommy with some of his girlfriends, was helped with her bus-stop
building projects.

In their interviews with the media, most of the celebrities
have always insisted that their relations with Tommy were just
"ordinary friendships" or refused to comment at all.

Nia has beaten around the bush. In a recent interview with the
mass circulation Kompas daily, she said her affair with Tommy,
whose name she flip-flopped into Ymot, ended after he married
Tata.

The most saucy of all his affair was with Maya. The couple
reportedly exchanged nuptials in Singapore and had a child but
the then first lady Tien Soeharto refused to recognize the union
because Tommy was a Moslem and Rumantir a Christian.

Newspaper boy Amat reported over the weekend he could make a
profit of between Rp 5,000 and Rp 10,000 a day from selling
copies of the magazines.

"But that was last month. There is no such 'good news' now to
sell," said the 15 year old, who usually sells papers at Senen
bus terminal, Central Jakarta.

He said his friends still copied the reports to offer to
passersby.

"Many motorists prefer to buy the copies than the original.
Probably, it's because of the monetary crisis," said Oji, who
sells newspapers on a junction in Jl. Sultan Agung, South
Jakarta.

Many newspaper boys are hoping that newspapers and magazines
will report new saucy topics about Soeharto's relatives and
(former) henchmen.

But, obviously, not everyone is impressed about such reports,
which in the past could only be found on the Internet.

For example officials at PT Abdi Bangsa, the publisher of
Republika daily was furious when Warta Ekonomi magazine reported
that the company was partly owned by Soeharto.

The magazine later apologized for not rechecking the list it
obtained from the Internet which was made by Soeharto critic
George Junus Aditjondro, who is in self-exile in Australia.

Novi Rochyani, a corporate service employee of PT Astra CMG
Life, said that she had known about Tommy's love affairs for some
time.

"I've heard about them. Besides, the tabloid reports only
consist of the celebrities' denials," Novi said.

She said one of her family members bought one version. Some of
her friends also coughed up the cash for the gossip but found the
pages of print contained little new information.

"However, it's good way to kill time," she said. (jun)