Probing Soeharto's wealth

At last President B.J. Habibie is meeting the public's demand for an investigation into former president Soeharto's wealth. A commission is to be formed for this particular purpose shortly. This is a good beginning even though we still have to see who will be selected to sit in the commission and how large the scope of the commission's duties will be.

Members of the commission must be personalities whose integrity is undisputed or at least whose records are not stained by corrupt, collusive and nepotistic practices during the period Soeharto was in power. We are convinced that clean and upstanding individuals can still be found, whether among our economists, judges, public prosecutors, police officers or even our bureaucrats.

This must be said because at present the perception exists that Habibie tends to favor people he likes when filling official posts. The replacement of the attorney general and the appointment of Billy Joedono to the post of chairman of the State Audit Board (Bapeka) are cases in point that raise doubts about Habibie's sincerity. We even hope that foreign consultants such as Kroll Associates will be assigned to assist the commission. Kroll's has extensive experience in this matter and enjoys a good international reputation and would therefore considerably increase the commission's efficacy.

Soeharto, his family, government officials and whoever else may be affected in the process will have to accept the reality that this is what the public wants and that this has nothing to do with our tradition of respecting our elders. On the contrary, the enaction of a proper legal process would give Soeharto the chance to defend himself.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta