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.