PDI Perjuangan delays House decision on Akbar
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Although March 18 is fast approaching, the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) has still deferred making any decision on whether or not to support the setting up of a House inquiry into House Speaker Akbar Tandjung.
Many say that the party's vacillation over the inquiry is due to fears that any such move would destroy the loose coalition supporting President Megawati Soekarnoputri's government.
Speaking after the party's weekly meeting led by chairwoman Megawati here on Tuesday, PDI Perjuangan secretary-general Sutjipto said that his party would prioritize the legal process over the political process in dealing with the corruption allegations against Akbar.
House factions have agreed to delay until March 18 a decision on whether or not to set up an inquiry to investigate Akbar, who has been formally charged as a suspect in a Rp 54.6 billion financial scandal involving the State Logistics Agency (Bulog).
Akbar, who is also the chairman of Golkar, one of the political parties that played a pivotal role in catapulting Megawati into the presidency in July 2001, was detained by the Attorney General's Office on Thursday.
Golkar, the second biggest faction in the House with 120 seats, has slammed the detention as being politically motivated and threatened to withdraw its support from Megawati's administration, a move that could put an end to her young government.
Speculation is rife that the PDI Perjuangan, the biggest faction in the House with 153 representatives, will eventually withhold its support for a House investigation of Akbar in exchange for Golkar's support for Megawati's administration.
Sutjipto said on Tuesday that the PDI Perjuangan was trying to convince Golkar leaders that Akbar's detention was based purely on the law and that there had been no political intervention in the case.
"We are trying to bring about an understanding that all this is in line with purely legal procedures and has been carried out as it should be. We need to get this through to them," Sutjipto said without elaborating what concrete steps would be taken to restore amicable ties with Golkar.
Several Golkar executives have accused the PDI Perjuangan, especially its chairwoman Megawati, of intervening in the Akbar investigation.
Meanwhile, deputy secretary-general of the Golkar Party, Bomer Pasaribu, said on Tuesday that Golkar would not pull out its members from the cabinet despite the political row with the ruling party, the PDI Perjuangan.
"We will be more critical of the government, but so far there has been no decision by the party to pull out Golkar ministers from the cabinet," he told The Jakarta Post.
Three Golkar ministers serve in the Megawati cabinet.
Golkar's executive board held a plenary meeting chaired by Agung Laksono on Monday evening and pledged that the party would not be so quick to acquiese in government decisions.
A number of activist groups alleged on Tuesday that the Attorney General's Office had yet to investigate the substance of the case: the alleged misuse of funds by Golkar Party figures.
The activists said that the office had so far merely focused on investigating the misuse of funds in the distribution of basic necessities by the Raudlatul Jannah Foundation.
The Joint Secretariat of the Petisi 50 Working Committee, the Alliance of Muslim Parties, the Vigilant Committee against the New Order, and the Association of Muslim Students (MPO) conveyed a demand to the PDI Perjuangan faction in the House that an inquiry be established to make sure the investigation proceeded along the right course.
The Joint Secretariat also demanded that the Attorney General's Office summon and question persons who allegedly had knowledge about or were involved in the case, including Fadel Muhammad, M.S. Hidayat, Enggartiasto Lukita, Iris Indiramurti and Setya Novanto, all of whom are former Golkar treasurers.