Party chiefs to be grilled over scam allegations

Yogita Tahilramani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

National Police detectives have announced plans to question chiefs of political parties who allegedly received Rp 109 billion from the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) and former president B.J. Habibie in the run-up to the 1999 elections.

"My two officers and I spoke with Gus Dur at his home on Tuesday, asking him to explain the matter to us. It was not a formal questioning," National Police director for general crimes division Brig. Gen. Bakat Purwanto said on Friday.

"It has not reached to the phase of recording what Gus Dur has said. What he told us was what he has told the press."

Former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid alleged earlier that, besides Golkar, political parties including President Megawati Soekarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan); Vice President Hamzah Haz's Muslim-based United Development Party (PPP), and Defense Minister Matori Abdul Djalil's National Awakening Party (PKB), were among those to receive money from Bulog in the 1999 general elections.

Claiming that he gleaned this information from former General Election Commission chairman Rudini, Gus Dur noted that Megawati's PDI Perjuangan received Rp 38 billion in Bulog funds, Hamzah's PPP received Rp 24 billion, while Matori's PKB pocketed Rp 8 billion.

He also alleged that Golkar received Rp 54 billion, not Rp 40 billion as widely believed.

Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung is currently in the custody of the Attorney General's Office on corruption charges.

The high-profile scandal centers around the disbursement of Rp 40 billion in Bulog funds to a little-known foundation in relief assistance intended for people most affected by the economic crisis in 1999.

Akbar, who is also speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR), is scheduled to stand trial on March 25.

PDI Perjuangan, PPP, and Matori's PKB, as well as Golkar, have also denied Gus Dur's allegations.

Bakat said that police detectives still needed much more information on the cases before they could approach chiefs of the political parties.

Gus Dur said on Thursday that police authorities had informally asked him earlier in the week about the illegal disbursement of Bulog funds to political parties in 1999.

"I explained to police that if I was to give evidence, I wanted be the one making the official charges against the parties or individuals," Gus Dur said on Thursday. "If my testimony is really needed, then summon me to court."

He added that he has reliable documentation. "My source has all the written evidence, and copies of the receipts," he was quoted by Antara as saying.

Gus Dur also said that he would share the information, or hand over the evidence, should the police or the Attorney General's Office request it.

Gus Dur, who was democratically elected in 1999, was impeached in a special session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) in 2001 for his alleged involvement in the illegal disbursement of Bulog funds to a business associate.

His impeachment split PKB into two factions, the Matori-led PKB, and Alwi Shihab-PKB.