President requested funds: Official

President requested funds: Official

JAKARTA (JP): A senior official of the State Logistics Agency
(Bulog) testified in court on Tuesday that he had disbursed Rp 35
billion of funds from an employee foundation in January.

He believed the money was requested by President Abdurrahman
Wahid.

Mulyono, chairman of Bulog's Yanatera foundation, said he
understood that then Bulog deputy chief Sapuan had full authority
to order him to disburse the money.

Sapuan said the money was needed for a government humanitarian
program in Aceh upon an order from President Abdurrahman, Mulyono
told the South Jakarta District Court, which is trying Sapuan on
charges of embezzlement of Bulog money.

Sapuan has denied the charges and insisted that he requested
the money because it was so-ordered by the head of state. If
found guilty, he faces a maximum jail term of five years.

The suggestions of the President's involvement and allegations
that the money went into the pockets of members of his inner
circle prompted the House of Representatives to launch an
inquiry.

Mulyono said he had followed all proper procedures in
releasing the funds, stressing that Sapuan had full authority to
manage Bulog's day-to-day operations on behalf of the agency's
then chief Jusuf Kalla, who at the time was also minister of
industry and trade.

He said the order to release the Rp 35 billion was contained
in a memo signed by Sapuan, although the foundation's statute
stipulated that the release of any sum above Rp 500 million must
have the written approval of the Bulog chief.

"We (and the staff) believed Pak Sapuan had full authority to
order the disbursement of the funds," he said.

Sapuan had earlier promised to bring a receipt signed by
President Abdurrahman, but it later turned out that the receipt
was signed by Suwondo, the President's masseur, Mulyono said.

In May, the foundation called for a meeting with Sapuan and
Suwondo to discuss the return of the money, he said, adding that
Yanatera eventually agreed to treat the funds as a loan to
Suwondo, payable within one year at an annual interest rate of 18
percent.

The trial also heard the testimony of Tito Karnavian of the
Jakarta Police's Economic Investigation Unit, who explained to
the court the process of Sapuan's arrest and the ensuing
investigation.

Suwondo, who has also been named a suspect in the Bulog
scandal, is still at large.

Presiding judge Lalu Mariyun adjourned the hearing until next
week. (01)