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.