Megawati reprimands minister over treasure hunt

Tiarma Siboro and Theresia Sufa, Jakarta/Bogor

The government called on Wednesday for an end to the polemic over a treasure dig at the Batutulis protected historic site in the West Java town of Bogor, after President Megawati Soekarnoputri reprimanded Minister of Religious Affairs Said Agil Al Munawar over the case.

Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Yusuf Kalla said after a ministerial meeting that the President's reprimand was considered sanction enough for Said Agil for his ordering of an illegal excavation in an area of cultural significance.

"President Megawati has rebuked the minister, who has also conveyed his apologies to the public," Kalla said. It was the first time since assuming power in July last year that the President has acted so firmly against one of her ministers.

During his visit to Medan on Tuesday, Said Agil apologized to the Sundanese community and the Indonesian people in general for the excavations, which have since been stopped. The minister repeated his apology during a press briefing at his official residence on Jl. Wijaya Chandra in South Jakarta on Wednesday.

Kalla said the reprimand, apologies and halting of the dig were enough for the government to declare the case closed, although the police have said the legal process against the minister could go ahead.

Said Agil has come under fire over the past week for ordering the excavations near a stone inscription left by the ancient Pajajaran kingdom, whose territory mostly covered West Java. In his argument, the minister said he was following the advice of a cleric who somehow "detected" the presence of the treasure.

Various cultural and youth groups in West Java have demanded Said Agil's resignation for insulting their pride, demands which he has so far rejected.

Said Agil retracted his earlier claim that his move had been approved by the President.

"I told her the story after a Cabinet meeting on Aug. 19, but at that time she was not paying attention," the minister said.

Megawati was quoted by her aide Pramono Anung on Tuesday as saying that she had never thrown her weight behind the minister's plan.

Meanwhile, Bogor Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Setyo Wasisto said the questioning of 12 witnesses in the case could lead to an investigation of the minister.

"Just wait and see after Monday," Setyo said.

Causing damage to an historic site carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail under the 1992 law on protected cultural sites.

A police source who requested anonymity quoted a witness as saying that Said Agil ordered South Bogor district chief Achmad Adjidji and Batutulis subdistrict chief Taspin to excavate the historic site ostensibly so that it could be renovated. On Wednesday last week, he himself supervised the excavations, which were carried out by eight diggers who were paid Rp 400,000 each.

Both Achmad and Adjidji were concerned about the project and asked the diggers to halt the project pending a permit from an authorized agency.

Also, representatives of student organizations across West Java added to the pressure on Said Agil to resign. They threatened to mobilize thousands of students to rally against the minister in Jakarta if he failed to heed their demands.

The students came from various colleges including the Bandung Institute of Technology, Padjadjaran University, Juanda University and Parahyangan University.

They rallied near the Batutulis site to ask Megawati to dismiss Said Agil for incompetence.

"The rallies will continue until Said Agil steps down. We were silent when the Rancamaya historic site was demolished for a luxury housing complex and a golf course. We are not going to remain quiet again," Galih Santika, a student leader said.