Nurdin Halid questioned

UJUNGPANDANG, South Sulawesi: The provincial prosecutor's office plans to question a member of the House of Representatives/People's Consultative Assembly this week over the embezzlement of Rp 50 billion (US$3.85 million) from a farmers cooperative fund.

Chief prosecutor Gagoek Subahyanto acknowledged he had been pressured to make legislator Nurdin Halid face legal authorities in Jakarta. The commander of the Wirabuana Military Command, Maj. Gen. Suaidi Marasabessy, however, has guaranteed security in the province during the investigation into the alleged embezzlement here.

On Saturday, hundreds of Hasanuddin village cooperative employees, taxi drivers, youth activists and students demonstrated at the prosecutor's office and the local legislative council, demanding that Nurdin be taken to Jakarta.

Nurdin, a former executive of the Hasanuddin cooperative, allegedly embezzled the funds between 1992 and 1995 when his cooperative bought cloves from farmers in the country's clove trading scheme set up through the Clove Marketing and Buffer Stock Managing Agency (BPPC).

President B.J. Habibie signed an approval form on July 30 allowing prosecutors to question the legislator. (37)