Mega comes under fire on Sjamsul's case

Mega comes under fire on Sjamsul's case

A. Junaidi, Jakarta

A group of non-governmental organizations demanded on Saturday
that the Attorney General's Office resume its investigation into
Sjamsul Nursalim, saying the President's order to stop the legal
process against the business tycoon violated the Anticorruption
Law.

Coordinator of the National Legal Reform Consortium (KRHN)
Firmansyah Arifin said the office could not halt the
investigation into Sjamsul, just because he had returned Rp 10.1
trillion (US$1.12 billion) in Bank Indonesia Liquidity Assistance
(BLBI) funds that he had misused.

State prosecutors said their decision was based on
Presidential Decree No. 8/2002 on release and discharge,
resulting in the acquittal of a number of business heavyweights
accused of misusing BLBI funds of both criminal and civil charges
in exchange for debt repayment.

Firmansyah said the decree breached Article 4 of Law No.
31/199 on corruption eradication, which states that debt
repayment to the state shall not cancel out criminal charges.

"What about other convicted corruptors who have returned state
money. The Attorney General's Office has practiced discrimination
by freeing Sjamsul," he said.

Businessman Winfried Simatupang and social foundation
organizer Dadang Sukandar were both jailed for 18 months last
year in a high profile corruption case that also involved Golkar
Party leader Akbar Tandjung.

The judges convicted Winfried although he returned all Rp 40
billion belonging to the State Logistics Agency that he had
misappropriated.

While acquitting Akbar, the Supreme Court sustained the prison
sentence for Winfried and Dadang, despite the fact that the state
losses were recovered.

The Judiciary Watch Coalition, the Indonesian Corruption Watch
(ICW), the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta), the
Indonesian Judiciary Monitoring Society of the University of
Indonesia's School of Law (Mappi FHUI) and the Indonesian
Institute for an Independent Judiciary (LeIP) added pressure on
the Attorney General's Office to resume its probe into Sjamsul.

"The office's decision has insulted the people's sense of
justice," Firmansyah said.

Until the probe against him was dropped, Sjamsul had evaded
legal investigation from May 2001, claiming he needed medical
treatment abroad. It was the Attorney General's Office which
permitted Sjamsul to go overseas.

Asep Rahmat Fajar of Mappi FHUI said the office's move to
suspend Sjamsul's case had marred President Megawati
Soekarnoputri's recent anticorruption drive which has resulted in
the implication of Aceh governor Abdullah Puteh and lawmaker
Nurdin Halid in high-profile corruption and smuggling cases.

Asep demanded that the President clarify to the public the
reasons behind her controversial decree and her commitment to
corruption eradication.

If the prosecutors fail to resume their investigation into
Sjamsul, the NGOs would ask the powerful Corruption Eradication
Commission (KPK) to take over the case, he said.

Asep said the NGOs would demand that the Supreme Court revoke
the letter certifying that Sjamsul had repaid his debts issued by
the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency.

Seven other debtors have also secured similar certification
and will also likely be acquitted of charges,

They are Denin Tong of Bank Baja International, Husodo Angkow
of Bank Sewu International, Hasyim Joyohadikusumo of Bank Pelita,
Bank Papan Sejahtera and Bank Istamarat, Hokiarto of Hokindo
Bank, The Nin King of Hutama Bank and Muhammad "Bob" Hasan of
Bank Umum Nasional.

Sjamsul was declared as a suspect in 2000 after his Bank
Dagang Nasional Indonesia (BDNI) failed to repay BLBI funds. The
bank violated the legal landing limit regulation by channeling
most of its loans to his group's subsidiaries.