Megawati rules out deal on Akbar

Megawati rules out deal on Akbar

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party
of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) has ruled out any back-room deal to
rescue Golkar Party Chairman Akbar Tandjung from legal troubles
that could cost him his political career.

A PDI Perjuangan legislator Jakob Tobing told The Jakarta Post
on Tuesday that Megawati asserted her party's position during an
unscheduled meeting with several key Cabinet ministers at her
residence in Central Jakarta overnight.

Jakob refused to identify the ministers.

"During the meeting the President revealed PDI Perjuangan's
commitment to fighting corruption in connection with the latest
State Logistics Agency (Bulog) scandal. We are seeking a thorough
investigation into the case," he said.

He said the party's faction at the House of Representatives
will not support the proposed establishment of a special
committee to investigate the scandal unless the legal process
being conducted by the Attorney General's Office proceeds too
slowly.

Speculation has been rife that Megawati's government was
considering a compromise with Akbar over his alleged role in the
misuse of Rp 40 billion Bulog fund after the President met the
Golkar chairman on Saturday.

Speaking after the meeting between the chiefs of the country's
two largest parties, Akbar said he appealed to Megawati to
maintain cooperation between Golkar and PDI Perjuangan.

The Attorney General's Office has named Akbar a suspect in the
alleged scam which took place in 1999 when Akbar was the
minister/state secretary. The decision has put Akbar's position
as the House of Representatives Speaker in limbo.

The 500-member House will vote next Monday on whether to hold
a special committee to investigate Akbar's role. A similar
committee led to Abdurrahman Wahid's ouster from presidency last
year.

Megawati presided over a regular party meeting on Tuesday,
during which, she outlined the party's stance in the case
involving Akbar.

PDI Perjuangan deputy chairman Roy BB Janis told reporters
after the meeting that the party would not maintain ties with
other political groups at the expense of the reform movement,
which stipulates the supremacy of law and a fight against
corruption, collusion and nepotism.

"It (the cooperation) is not aimed at undermining the reform
spirit or making up the law in order to change something black
into white or vise versa," Roy said.

Although cracks are found in the coalition between Golkar and
PDI Perjuangan, Roy denied speculation that Golkar would abandon
Megawati's Cabinet.

"There's no Golkar ministers or PDI Perjuangan ministers in
the Cabinet. They are all members of the Gotong Royong Cabinet,"
Roy said.

Contradictory to Akbar's remarks on the significance of the
weekend meeting with Megawati, Roy said it was an informal
conversation between the President and House Speaker.

However, Roy indicated that his faction, the largest in the
House, had backed down from its initial position of demanding the
establishment of the special committee to investigate Akbar.

"This is a highly dynamic political process... we continue to
evaluate the ongoing developments and will only announce our
stance on the committee during the House plenary session on Jan.
21," Roy said.

The establishment of the committee was proposed by 50
legislators in October last year, mostly by members of the
National Awakening Party and PDI Perjuangan.

People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais also warned
PDI Perjuangan against sacrificing the due process of law in the
Akbar case for the sake of its ties with Golkar, the ruling party
during the authoritarian regime of Soeharto.

"I welcome the cooperation between the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle and Golkar, and other parties as well. But
please, don't cooperate to conceal corruption," Amien told the
press after meeting U.S. Congressmen at his office on Tuesday.

Golkar has stepped up its lobbying of other political parties
since Akbar was named a suspect in the high profile case.

Besides soliciting support from other parties, the party is
also intensifying efforts to uphold solidity among its members.

Golkar also turned up the pressure against the government,
explicitly criticizing the government from all corners. However,
Akbar repeatedly denied allegations that the criticisms were a
retaliation move to disgrace the president.

On Tuesday evening, Golkar top executives gathered at the
party's headquarters in Slipi, West Jakarta. Senior member AA
Baramuli, who recently called for Akbar's resignation over the
Bulog scam, was among attendants of the meeting, which was
presided over by Akbar.