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.