Officials say palace phone system safe

JAKARTA (JP): Merdeka Palace officials are vouching for the security of their telephone system and are confident a taped telephone conversation purportedly between President B.J. Habibie and Attorney General Andi M. Ghalib could not have been tapped on palace grounds.

"If the conversation really took place, we are confident it was held somewhere else," one official said on Friday.

Habibie's predecessor Soeharto used Bina Graha presidential office as his main office during his 32-year tenure, although he also received foreign guests at Merdeka Palace.

The palace's central telephone operator also has a direct extension to Soeharto's private residence on Jl. Cendana, Central Jakarta. It was known to still be active as of Friday afternoon.

Before assuming the presidency in May, Habibie ordered the state-owned telecommunications company PT Telkom to ensure the palace's telecommunication system was free of any tapping technology. Telkom uses special equipment and lines for the palace.

The officials' claim was confirmed by a senior Telkom official who spoke to The Jakarta Post on the condition of anonymity.

"All the (palace) telephones, from lines, machines to technology, have passed our checks, and therefore are protected and free of bugs."

With different work habits from his predecessor, Habibie spends most of his workday at newly renovated Merdeka Palace. It is reportedly partly a precaution to ensure better telecommunications security.

He only uses Bina Graha when presiding over Cabinet meetings.

Cellular phone

Sources also revealed Telkom checked telephone lines at Habibie's private residence in Patra Kuningan, South Jakarta, when he was elected vice president in March last year.

However, it is known Habibie often uses a cordless telephone at home, a habit he picked up when he was still a minister, and a private cellular phone.

The devices are considered susceptible to unauthorized monitoring.

A telecommunications expert claimed it was easy to monitor conversations on cordless phones.

The expert, who insisted on anonymity, admitted he occasionally eavesdropped on neighbors' calls.

Cordless telephones, he explained, usually use a fixed Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN). Conversation using the equipment can be tapped through a simple walkie-talkie by adjusting the frequency.

"This type of cordless machine is very flexible and easy to carry around, but technically it is also very vulnerable."

He believed a walkie-talkie was used to tap the alleged conversation of Habibie and Ghalib.

"I myself have experience in bugging phone conversations. Even my child once did it while playing with a walkie-talkie and found my neighbor's phone frequency. We could overhear all of the conversation."

Comment

Habibie has yet to comment on the authenticity of the conversation, but has ordered instead a full investigation into the matter.

Ghalib was quick to deny the conversation took place and his aides said the Attorney General's Office was secure from bugging.

Berni L. Abubakar, a maritime telecommunications expert, noted that only Habibie and Ghalib knew the truth about the episode.

"It is difficult to prove tapping, as it needs a long process. First we must prove the authenticity of the voice."

However, he said he knew of no "voice engineering" cases during his 30-year career in Indonesia. (edt/43/prb)