PPP gives ultimatum over murder probe

PPP gives ultimatum over murder probe

JAKARTA (JP): The United Development Party (PPP) faction
threatened to walk out of the deliberation of the state budget if
the government did not complete a murder investigation on its
legislator Tengku Nashiruddin Daud within 30 days.

Maksum Zaeladry, the faction's spokesman, made the statement
on Thursday at a House of Representatives plenary session on the
deliberation of the 2000 state budget from April to December.

Endin Sofihara, the faction's secretary, said after the
session that his faction praised the House leaders' call for the
police to complete the probe into the murder within 30 days.

"If the investigation is incomplete and the police fail to
inform us of the report on the investigation, we will demand the
National Police chief to come and explain it," he said.

Nashiruddin, an Acehnese, was found dead in Sibolangit in Deli
Serdang regency, some 40 kilometers southeast of the North
Sumatra capital of Medan last week, after he was reportedly
abducted.

House Speaker Akbar Tandjung surmised that politics was behind
the motive of the death of Nashiruddin, who was a member of a
House special commission tasked with the probe of past atrocities
in the restive province.

Endin said the PPP faction did not intend to interfere in the
police's internal affairs by setting the 30-day time frame. He
said the demand was aimed to encourage the police to be serious
in conducting the investigation.

The North Sumatra Provincial Police dismissed on Wednesday the
House's demand, saying they would comply with their method of
investigation.

Endin said his faction urged National Police chief Lt. Gen.
Rusdihardjo to immediately investigate the murder thoroughly.

"The police in North Sumatra and Aceh should abide by the
National Police chief's order on the investigation," Endin said.

Rusdihardjo said on Wednesday that six people were questioned
as witnesses.

Col. Saleh Saaf of the National Police information unit, said
Nashiruddin's body was found at about 4 a.m. on Jan. 25.

"The body, which was not identified at the time, was
immediately admitted to Adam Malik Hospital for a postmortem
examination," Saleh told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

The hospital staff buried the body at the Deli Tua graveyard
on Jan. 30 after no one claimed the corpse, Saleh said.

But the body was retrieved the day after upon the request of
Nashiruddin's son, Abdur Rauf, who had come to Medan after a
representative of the Aceh administration in North Sumatra,
Arifin Ibrahim, informed him about the finding of the
legislator's body.

Saleh said Nashiruddin arrived in Medan on Jan. 23 from Aceh
to buy an air ticket to Jakarta. He stayed at a guest house
belonging to the Aceh administration at Jl. Pattimura No. 447.

The morning after, Nashiruddin met with acquaintances, Najib,
a student who heads the Aceh Administration Student Association
(IMAPA), and H. Toib at Polonia Airport, where he was told
tickets to Jakarta were sold out.

Saleh said Nashiruddin gave Toib, who was heading for Jakarta,
Rp 100,000 for unknown reasons.

Nashiruddin returned to the guest house and at about 2 p.m.
went out again but did not return. (rms/ylt)