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.