Muslem leaders want probe of ducument leakage case
Muslem leaders want probe of ducument leakage case
JAKARTA (JP): Influential Moslem leaders criticized Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono for taking the leakage of classified state documents too "lightly".
Several mubaligh (Islamic propagators) discussed at length on Sunday the embezzlement charges against Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto contained in three reports by Inspector General of Development Kentot Harseno to President Soeharto. The classified documents were leaked to the press and other parties.
The mubaligh said Moerdiono had acted as if the leakage of classified documents was trivial.
Moerdiono said earlier that the person found responsible for the leakage would only be reprimanded.
Ahmad Sumargono cited a 1977 law on archives which stipulates a maximum penalty of life imprisonment for people found guilty of intentionally revealing the contents of classified documents to a third party.
The leading member of the Committee for World Moslem Solidarity told a gathering at the Islamic Propagation Council that the leakage cannot be taken lightly.
Quoting the law, he concluded that leaking classified documents is a crime. "The police should not sit back and do nothing," he said. "They should find whoever leaked the documents."
He also said the Attorney General could also investigate if he deemed the leakage amounted to subversion. "Strange, if the law enforcers don't investigate," he said.
He said that further investigation might reveal the person who leaked the documents, his motive, and the accuracy of the documents.
"We have to apply the principle of equal justice for all," Sumargono said.
Other speakers at the gathering were Hussein Umar, a member of the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals, and Kholil Ridwan from the Brotherhood Forum of Islam.
The government has formally closed the embezzlement case against Haryanto. Despite the announcement, the public is still upset about the case, and there are demands that the case be brought to court.
Moerdiono announced last week that Haryanto was guilty of some "administrative mistakes" but there was no evidence that he misused funds belonging to state enterprises.
Sumargono suspected a political ploy behind the affair, especially since the documents were given to the media.
He said other government officials could have committed similar mistakes, but they were not given extensive media coverage. (imn/swe)