Moerdiono, Bustanil grilled over use of foundation funds

JAKARTA (JP): Former minister/state secretary Moerdiono and former chief of the State Logistics Agency Bustanil Arifin were questioned on Wednesday at the Attorney General's Office.

Bustanil, an executive of the Amal Bhakti Muslim Pancasila Foundation, one of the foundations controlled by former president Soeharto, was questioned regarding the use of foundation funds, Antara reported on Wednesday.

Officials at the Attorney General's Office said Moerdiono was questioned as a responsible party in the issuance of privileges to automotive company PT Timor Putra Nasional, which is controlled by Soeharto's youngest son Hutomo Mandala Putra.

A treasurer of another foundation, Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, Soeharto's eldest daughter, is expected to be questioned on Thursday.

Bustanil, who arrived at the office at 8 a.m., told reporters that all donations to the foundation were voluntary, including the monthly deductions from civil servants' salaries ranging from Rp 50 to Rp 1,000 depending on the salary level. There are 4.1 million civil servants according to latest data.

Soeharto, he said, never instructed that civil servants must donate to the foundation, the funds of which were used to build 802 mosques across the country, among others things.

The donations from Muslim civil servants, Bustanil said, were conducted "based on an agreement between the civil servants organization, Korpri, and the foundation".

The foundation, he said, still had some Rp 51 billion.

Bustanil said Soeharto had expressed hope that the public could have adequate religious facilities from their own funds.

The foundation was set up in February 1982 by Soeharto and his then close ministers and advisors Bustanil, the late Alamsyah Ratuprawiranegara, Widjojo Nitisastro, the late Amir Machmud and then state secretary Sudharmono. Its aim was to collect charitable funds.

The Attorney General's Office has also questioned the treasurers of four other foundations under Soeharto, including his son, businessman Bambang Trihatmodjo.

Soeharto himself has yet to be named a witness or suspect in investigations into alleged corruption.

Meanwhile, Moerdiono told the media that the decision to start a national car project carried out by PT Timor was "Soeharto's vision". It was to anticipate the free trade era in which Indonesia should have a national car, he said.

In response to why Hutomo, or Tommy as he is widely known, was awarded the rights despite being a newcomer in the industry, Moerdiono said it was because it was Tommy who first held negotiations with a Korean partner which could cooperate with Indonesia in producing a national car. (anr)