Police to summon Nabiel next week over Buyat case

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The police have summoned former environment minister Nabiel Makarim for questioning as a witness in connection with the alleged pollution of Buyat Bay, North Sulawesi.

A police investigator said on Friday the summons was sent to Nabiel on Friday, informing him of the purpose of the questioning, which is scheduled for next week.

"We will question Pak Nabiel as a witness, representing the government," Comr. Sulis Andriatmoko said.

The police do not need presidential approval to question Nabiel following the completion of his term as a minister on Wednesday. The law requires the police or prosecutors to obtain presidential consent to interrogate state officials, including ministers and legislators.

"Pak Nabiel is now an ordinary citizen, therefore we don't need to wait for permission from the President," he said.

The police changed their plan to question Nabiel early this month, citing the absence of then president Megawati Soekarnoputri's approval.

Nabiel's summons came just a few days after he released a government report dated Oct. 14 stating that Buyat Bay was not contaminated.

Earlier tests conducted by the police revealed, however, heavy metal content in the baywater that exceeded standards set by the Office of the State Minister of the Environment. The findings prompted the police to name six top Newmont Minahasa Raya executives suspects in the case and detain five of them.

The police also played down the government's report, saying they would stick to their findings.

On Wednesday, several non-governmental organizations (NGO) accused Nabiel of misleading the public by releasing an unapproved report. They said the results released by Nabiel to several national and international media were partial and did not represent the government-sanctioned joint team assigned to probe the alleged pollution of the bay.

Nabiel responded to the NGOs' claim, saying the information should published as the public had the right to it. He said the test results were not the monopoly of the technical team but also belonged to society.

The North Sulawesi Prosecutor's Office has returned the case files of the six suspects, who include Newmont president director Richard Ness, asking the police for expert verification of the method they used to take samples in their field research in August.

Other tests conducted by other institutions concluded the bay was not polluted.