Prosecutor's demand to free legislator Nurdin protested

Prosecutor's demand to free legislator Nurdin protested

UJUNGPANDANG, South Sulawesi (JP): Hundreds of university
students and lecturers on Tuesday protested the provincial
prosecutor's office over its demand for the acquittal of
legislator Nurdin Halid on charges of embezzling funds from a
cooperative.

In another unexpected twist in the case, Nurdin blasted the
government for negligence toward the country's cooperatives,
including its failure to root out corrupt managers.

Prosecutor Mustafa Chani fainted last week after demanding the
Ujungpandang District Court release Nurdin. He contended there
was insufficient evidence in the case.

"Did the prosecutors prioritize the interests of the attorney
general or the public?" said Achmad Ali, one of the protest
leaders.

Nurdin is accused of embezzling Rp 115.77 billion (about US$12
million) from farmers' compulsory accounts at a local cooperative
center which acted as the sole buyer from village cooperatives in
the province. Nurdin was once known as a close associate of
former president Soeharto's son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra.

Nurdin is a member of the ruling Golkar faction in the House
of Representatives. Attorney General Andi M. Ghalib acknowledged
he knew Nurdin when he served as the province's deputy governor
in the early 1990s, but indicated he would not interfere in the
trial.

Trial sessions attracted considerable attention and provoked
clashes between his supporters and opponents.

"The attorney general regretted the prosecutor's demand,"
chief prosecutor Fachri Nasution said on Monday. Nasution said he
did not instruct Mustafa to demand Nurdin's release.

On Tuesday students from state Hasanuddin University and
several private universities demanded Nasution form an
independent team to probe the scandal. Nurdin's supporters jeered
marching students although there were no clashes.

Antara quoted Nurdin as saying on Tuesday the country's
cooperatives could not develop optimally due to rampant
corruption by their managers.

"Such practices must be stopped," he said. (27/prb)