No one is above the law: ABRI commander

No one is above the law: ABRI commander

JAKARTA (JP): Commander of the Armed Forces (ABRI) Gen. Feisal
Tanjung emphasized yesterday that no one is immune to the law,
including former Air Force Chief of Staff Marshall (ret.) Mohamad
Saleh Basarah Suradiningrat, who is implicated in the fraudulent
acquisition of plots in South Jakarta's prime business district.

"When it comes to law everyone is the same regardless of his
or her formal position in the community," Feisal said before a
cabinet meeting at the Bina Graha yesterday.

Feisal was commenting on a recent remark made by the deputy to
the National Police Chief for Operational Affairs, Maj. Gen.
Koesparmono Irsan, who stated that many land disputes in the city
are difficult to solve due to the involvement of high-ranking
military and civilian officials.

The case involving the former Air Force Chief began in 1978
when his company, PT Teguh Timbul, acquired licenses to the plots
located on Kav. 26 and 27 at Jl. Jendral Sudirman, South Jakarta.

Due to financial difficulties, until 1988, PT Teguh Timbul had
only appropriated about half of the total 8,110 square meters on
the plots.

The company with all its assets was then bought by PT Ircobumi
Grahamaju for Rp 850 million (US$390,500), which then proceeded
to appropriate all the land and acquired land certificates as
well as land use and building permits for the plots.

PT Ircobumi then built a 21-story building where Bank Central
Dagang (BCD) is located. Another plot of land was purchased by
Bank Bali.

The dispute surfaced when one of the three original owners of
PT Teguh Timbul, Sukirman Hartomartono, claimed he had not been
informed by the other two co-owners, Saleh and G.F. Mambu, on the
sale of the company to PT Ircobumi.

Sukirman accused his former partners of embezzling and the
president of PT Ircobumi, Irwan Sutisna, of falsifying documents
so as to illegally appropriate the plots on Jl. Jendral Sudirman.

Initially Sukirman won the case when presented at the South
Jakarta District Court in October 1991. But the ruling was then
over-ruled by the Jakarta High Court in February 1993.

The suit is currently pending after Sukirman appealed to the
Supreme Court. A ruling is expected in the very near future.

Meanwhile the owner of the plots, Ilyas Ya'cub, through his
lawyer has also stated that the land was illegally occupied by PT
Ircobumi using forged ownership certificates.

Leniency

Allegations that law enforcers give special treatment to high-
ranking officials when they break the law came to the surface
when National Police Chief Gen. Banurusman Astrosemitro revealed
that Saleh did not have to subject himself to questioning at
police headquarters.

This unusual situation arose because Saleh, who is also former
ambassador to the United Kingdom, had already been summoned and
questioned by Air Force Chief of Staff Marshall Rilo Pambudi.

However when asked by reporters yesterday, Feisal reiterated
that the police should show no leniency or give special
privileges.

This includes the investigation involving the retired air
marshal, he said, without mentioning Saleh by name.

It is the latest in a rash of investigations involving ex-
officials that seem to confirm the long-standing complaints of
corruption by bureaucrats trying to supplement their meager
incomes. (mds)