Power struggle wrapped in fight against graft

Power struggle wrapped in fight against graft

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Post

It is a classic attack and revenge story.

A new political drama unfolds itself. This time it is Akbar
Tandjung, Speaker of the House of Representatives and former
military chief Gen. (ret.) Wiranto. They have been charged with
misappropriating Rp 40 billion.

The end of the drama, however, is clear. They will never be
touched by the hands of the law. Power holders in this country
have almost always abused their power with impunity.

It all began when former defense minister Muhammad Mahfud M.D.
said, on a recent television talk-show, that he once sought a
compromise with Akbar in attempts to prevent then president
Abdurrahman Wahid from falling from power.

Abdurrahman was then embroiled in a Rp 35 billion corruption
case linked to the State Logistics Agency (Bulog).

Mahfud said, during the talk-show, that Akbar initially agreed
to help Abdurrahman after Mahfud flaunted data in front of
Akbar's nose showing the later's involvement in yet another abuse
of Bulog funds when Akbar was state secretary.

The fact that Abdurrahman was finally dethroned might reflect
Akbar's hopelessness in resisting pressures from legislators who
were determined to unseat Abdurrahman.

The cycle has come full circle with Abdurrahman's National
Awakening Party taking revenge.

"It is clear that the case against Akbar is politically
motivated, not a genuine effort to fight corruption," Sudirman
Said, chairman of the Indonesian Society for Transparency told
The Jakarta Post when asked to comment on Mahfud's television
revelations.

The case is typical in Indonesian politics. In the recent
past, three high-profile corruption scandals have stood out above
the rest: Baligate, BLBIgate, and Bulogate.

All these cases ended without a single person being found
guilty.

In August 1999 the Bank Bali scandal was unveiled by Pradjoto,
a bank law expert close to the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle. This was when then President B.J. Habibie, a protege of
Soeharto, was seeking re-election.

Two businessmen affiliated with the Golkar Party (Soeharto's
former political machine), Joko Chandra and Golkar deputy
treasurer Setya Novanto, allegedly colluded with Indonesian Bank
Restructuring Agency (IBRA) officials to pressure Bank Bali to
provide Rp 546 billion in commissions to help the bank recoup Rp
946 billion in interbank claims on closed banks.

A sizable chunk of the commission might have been funneled to
the special team in charge of securing the election of President
B.J. Habibie.

A number of public figures close to Habibie, including former
state enterprises minister Tanri Abeng and chairman of the
Supreme Advisory Council A.A. Baramuli, were questioned. But
after Habibie failed to be reelected, the case was never pursued.

Another high-profile case involved Bank Indonesia Governor
Sjahril Sabirin. Former president Abdurrahman Wahid tried to use
the issue on the possible misuse of Rp 144.5 trillion, extended
to troubled banks between 1997 and 1999, to topple Sjahril.

Abdurrahman wanted to topple Sjahril simply because the later
refused to cooperate with him. Strong political support helped
Sjahril keep his position.

Abdurrahman was toppled from power in July after the House
decided that he played a role in illegally disbursing Rp 35
billion non-budgetary Bulog funds.

After Abdurrahman was downed, politicians and legal
authorities did not make any attempt to pursue the case.

The fact that the current case against Akbar was raised only
by a minor political party shows the fight against corruption is
not a serious effort.

Farid R. Faqih of Government Watch said that many political
elite like Vice President Hamzah Haz, also chairman of United
Development Party, and Justice and Human Rights Minister Yusril
Ihza Mahendra, also chairman of Crescent Star Party, are involved
in similar cases.

Farid accused the parties of Hamzah and Yusril of receiving
billions of rupiah from Habibie before the latest general
election in 1999.

"It is easy to predict the end of the Akbar and Wiranto case
as the political wind is now in their favor. The people will
always witness a similar story in the future. And the effort in
the fight against corruption will never satisfy the people,"
Sudirman said.