Regent a graft suspect

Regent a graft suspect

Rusman, The Jakarta Post, Samarinda

The Attorney General's Office has named Masjuni, the Regent of
Berau in East Kalimantan province, a suspect in a graft case for
allegedly embezzling Rp 88 billion (US$9.4 million) of the
Reforestation and Forest Resource Provision Fund.

"After questioning, we uncovered strong indications that he
had embezzled state money," said prosecutor M. Nasrun of the
office after interrogating the regent in Samarinda, the
provincial capital of East Kalimantan.

Masjuni was questioned for the second time on Wednesday by a
joint team of prosecutors -- six from the Attorney General's
Office and three from the Berau Prosecutor's Office.

The questioning followed earlier questioning on Sept. 16, when
Masjuni was questioned for eight hours in the Special Crimes
assistant's room at the East Kalimantan Prosecutor's Office.

The regent came under suspicion following reports filed by the
Berau Environmental Care and Development Forum and a number of
East Kalimantan councillors on alleged graft.

The reports prompted the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) to audit
Berau Regental Decree No. 48/2000 endorsed by Masjuni, an article
of which stipulated that forest concessionaires and private
logging companies were exempt from fees and royalties. The BPK
discovered that the decree had caused about Rp 88 billion in
state losses.

The regent had also issued Exclusive Forest Timber Harvesting
and Exploitation Permits (IPPKHM) to as many as 122 firms, which
exempted them from fees and royalties between 2001 and 2002. Only
11 of the permit holders have paid off their dues.

The BPK also found indications of changes in the status of
forests -- from state-owned to private -- without the issuance of
an official deed or proof of ownership to avoid paying relevant
fees.

Nasrun said the investigative team had yet to determine
whether the suspect should be detained or not, as they believed
the suspects did not present a flight risk.

Meanwhile, Masjuni said prosecutors had asked nine questions
on the administrative processes involved in the issuance of the
IPPKHM.

One of Masjuni's legal advisers, Robert Nababan, said his
client had not personally issued the decree on payment exemptions
nor the issuance of IPPKHM. The decree was issued upon guidelines
submitted by a technical team of the East Kalimantan
administration that consults on permits and accompanying fees.

"It isn't possible for the regent to issue the decrees himself
without complying to the guidelines drawn up by the provincial
technical team," said Nababan.