PDI Perjuangan-Golkar tie-up foils House inquiry into Akbar

PDI Perjuangan-Golkar tie-up foils House inquiry into Akbar

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A suspected deal between the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and the Golkar Party shot down on
Monday the public's hopes of a thorough inquiry into a high
profile scandal allegedly involving House of Representatives
Speaker Akbar Tandjung.

Akbar's Golkar, joined by Vice President Hamzah Haz's United
Development Party and the Military/Police faction in the House,
voted against a proposal to establish a special committee to
probe the Rp 40 billion (US$4.6 million) scandal at the State
Logistics Agency (Bulog).

Meanwhile, most legislators from the PDI Perjuangan, which
President Megawati Soekarnoputri chairs, abstained during the
vote despite public pressure for the party to support the
establishment of the inquiry committee.

"This is the most reasonable choice we can make," said PDI
Perjuangan faction chairman Roy B.B. Janis after the House's
plenary meeting.

There has been speculation that a political deal had been
clinched between PDI Perjuangan and Golkar to save Akbar from
further investigation.

But leaders of both the PDI Perjuangan and Golkar have denied
the existence of any such deal.

Sources say that Megawati's husband Taufik Kiemas was also
implicated in the high-profile scam, and that was why Akbar
Tandjung met Taufik shortly after 50 legislators floated the idea
of an inquiry committee in October last year.

According to these sources, the PDI Perjuangan and Golkar
reached a deal on the case to politically rescue both Taufik and
Akbar.

Golkar vowed to ensure that Megawati's presidency would
survive until 2004 while, for its part, the PDI Perjuangan
promised not to use its political ammunition against Akbar, the
sources said.

Legislator Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, who is known as a Golkar's
negotiator, denied the speculation, saying that the PDI
Perjuangan's rejection of the inquiry move was nothing out of the
ordinary.

"This is not a matter of sympathy from the PDI Perjuangan.
That faction has its own reasons," Ferry said.

Meilono Suwondo, a PDI Perjuangan legislator who voted for the
setting up of the inquiry, said he would not be surprised if
there was a political deal between the two parties. But Meilono
said that any such deal should be made in the interests of the
public.

The signs that the House would not set up a special committee
were apparent for all to read since the morning.

House deputy speaker Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno, who presided
over the plenary session, had to delay the meeting as not enough
legislators showed up.

It was only at about 9:40 a.m. that the meeting was opened
with 280 of the 500 legislators in attendance.

Worse still, only 19 of the 55 legislators from the National
Awakening Party (PKB), the main initiator of the move to form the
inquiry committee, attended the session.

PKB faction chairman Ali Masykur Musa pledged he would
question PKB legislators who had skipped the long-awaited plenary
meeting.

The fact that most of the PKB legislators were absent from the
plenary meeting drew criticism from legislators from the Reform
Faction.

"We have been betrayed by the PKB," said Djoko Susilo of the
Reform faction.

All 37 legislators from the Reform faction voted for the
establishment of an inquiry committee.