Moerdiono, Bustanil grilled over use of foundation funds
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)