Minister's swipe at Djajanti

Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo's public allegations late last month that the Djajanti Group's plywood subsidiary, PT Nusantara Plywood, in East Java purchased 4,000 cubic meters of illegally-cut logs, is not the first swing he has taken at large forest-based business groups.

More than one year ago, on Sept.7, 1994, Djamaludin, in an overzealous drive to maintain the principle of sustainable forest management, took a surprising shot at the publicly-listed PT Barito Pacific.

However, his strong remarks, including the threat that his ministry could take over 49 percent of Barito, one of the largest companies listed on the Jakarta stock exchange, turned out to be in error. He corrected his statement two days later, but the damage had been done and the stock market was confused for some time.

Obviously, the question arises at to why Djamaludin has apparently not learned a lesson from the error he made last year and become more careful regarding statements to the public. Why was the minister in such a hurry to disclose to the mass media that he would revoke Djajanti's concessions and that a decree to that effect was being prepared? Couldn't he have waited until thorough investigations had been completed and the results found conclusive?

Djamaludin's sweeping allegations against Djajanti on Sept. 26 raised eyebrows because three days previously he had made similar statements, on the basis of inconclusive investigations, at a hastily-convened news conference. It is difficult to understand the purpose of these public accusations. In fact, it seems that such disclosures to the mass media could be counter-productive in relation to his efforts to maintain a high level of discipline among concessionaires regarding sustainable management of forests.

The fact is that the power of the government and the bureaucratic scheme of things in this country are such that remarks by high ranking officials, let alone a cabinet member like Djamaludin, always carry a great deal of weight and are not only assumed to be correct by the public, but also are sometimes construed as official pronouncements. Understandably, no businessman nor company would ever dare to refute a minister's statement however erroneous it might be.

We have often commended Djamaludin for his strong determination and courage in dealing indiscriminately and firmly with errant forest concessionaires, including those with strong political connections which many consider "untouchable". In fact, to our knowledge, Djamaludin is one of the most respected members of the cabinet due to his good reputation and high level of integrity.

Nonetheless, prematurely disclosing to the public inconclusive results of investigations into alleged violations by forest-based companies not only is unfair, it also could do damage to companies, which could later turn out to be innocent.

Such unwarranted public pronouncements do little to help his drive to instill discipline among forest concessionaires. Moreover, we think, such premature, sweeping allegations might erode Djamaludin's reputation and raise questions as to whether ulterior motives exist.