Prosecutors seek permission to quiz Lampung governor
Prosecutors seek permission to quiz Lampung governor
Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung, Lampung
The Lampung Prosecutor's Office is waiting for presidential
permission to summon the province's outgoing governor, Oemarsono,
for questioning over his alleged role in a graft case involving
more than Rp 1.17 billion.
The governor, who will end his five-year term on Jan. 25, has
been accused of involvement in embezzling state funds disbursed
for the provision of 35,000 atlases in August 2001.
The head of the Lampung Prosecutor's Office, I Putu Kusa, said
on Saturday he submitted a request last November seeking
presidential permission to question Oemarsono, but had yet to
receive a reply.
Kusa said that if the presidential permission was not
forthcoming, he would simply wait until the day after Jan. 25 to
summon Oemarsono.
"At that moment, he will no longer be in power so we can
summon him freely," he said.
Oemarsono lost his gubernatorial reelection bid at the Lampung
provincial legislative council, despite the support of President
Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Alzier Dianis Thabrani, from Megawati's Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), won the election despite not
having his nomination approved by the President.
The corruption case surfaced in the middle of 2002, when the
governor dismissed the head of the Lampung Education Office,
Merayu Sukma, who was meant to oversee the procurement of the
atlases. Merayu has been declared a suspect by the Lampung
Prosecutor's Office in the corruption case.
He, however, claims he is a victim in the scandal and has
accused Oemarsono of playing a role in the case.
Merayu's lawyer, Sopian Sitepu from the Legal Aid Institute at
the University of Lampung, said his client would file a lawsuit
against Oemarsono over the scandal.
The lawyer said Merayu was following an order from Oemarsono
when he awarded the project to printing company CV Yudhistira of
East Jakarta without a tender.
"While I was attending a lecture in early May 2001, I received
a telephone call from the governor instructing me (to award the
project to CV Yudhistira)," said Merayu, who is currently
hospitalized with stress-related illnesses.
He said the governor's verbal order was followed by a memo
that was delivered to him by Lampung administration secretary
Herwan Achmad in August 2001.
If formally declared a suspect in the case, Oemarsono could be
charged with abusing his power for personal gain by releasing
the Rp 1.176 billion for the project without a public tender.
According to a presidential decree, any state project valued
at Rp 50 million or more must be offered through a tender.