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.