On New Order cronies

On New Order cronies

With regard to the letter published in Rakyat Merdeka which
was reprinted by The Jakarta Post on Aug. 28, 2001 under the
title Death sentence for Tommy, I would like to take the liberty
of correcting Attilla Graziani Sjafei of Bandung.

I am in no way a fan of the New Order but I think that it is
important to keep the facts correct in regard to Indonesia and
Indonesian's trying to understand what is and what has been going
on.

Bob Hasan has been sentenced to six years in prison not 18
months. He is still awaiting trial on various other charges. In
fact he is the only one of the cronies that has been tried and
convicted of corruption etc. thus far (with the exception of
Ricardo Gelael and the missing Tommy). Bob Hasan has settled all
his debts with the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA).
This fact has not been well published.

While all other cronies are running around the world and have
yet to come to court, Bob Hasan and his related companies are
being made to pay for the sins of their "brothers". Why hasn't
the attorney general or other law enforcement agencies made an
effort to bring charges and a swift return of money owed by the
"ex-first family" or any of the other cronies that are in
Singapore or Switzerland or other parts of the world? -- some
even in their own homes.

With regards to Tommy, why haven't the police been able to
find him? Is it not more convenient to blame every crime that
happens on him? He is deserving of much punishment and maybe even
death for crimes that we all know he has committed. Do we need to
add crimes that we are unsure of also? Why not concentrate on
what is known. That should keep 20 Attorney General's Offices
busy for the next 50 years.

Will things change now that Ibu Megawati and her "mutual help"
Cabinet are in charge? Or are we to see more of what we have
already seen -- empty promises, empty coffers and empty prison
cells?

NATALIA SARTIKA

Jakarta