Regent questioned in Rp 88b scandal
Rusman, The Jakarta Post/Samarinda
The regent of Berau in East Kalimantan, Masdjuni, was questioned for over eight hours on Friday as a suspect in a reforestation fund scandal, which is alleged to have cost the state some Rp 88 billion.
Separately, a non-governmental organization accused 45 former members of the East Kalimantan legislature of being involved in a Rp 1.6 billion graft case involving fictitious official trips.
Masdjuni was questioned at the East Kalimantan Prosecutor's Office in Samarinda by a team from the Attorney General's Office (AGO) in Jakarta.
The regent is charged with issuing a decree in 2000 exempting local businesspeople from paying reforestation contributions and forestry royalties.
East Kalimantan chief prosecutor D.H. Panjaitan declined to reveal the results of the questioning, which started at around 10 a.m. local time.
The probe was being carried out by the six-member team from the AGO, Panjaitan told journalists.
Earlier, the team, led by Yan Mere of the AGO's special crimes section, also questioned a number of witnesses in connection with the same case.
The alleged scam was first reported by the Forum of Berau Residents concerned with the Environment and Development (FMBKBPLP), and a number of members of the regental legislative council.
The NGO and the councillors brought their findings directly to President Megawati Soekarnoputri, the Ministry of Forestry, the National Police and the AGO.
Based on an investigation by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), Decree No. 48/2000, which was issued by Masdjuni and exempted forestry concessionaires from paying reforestation contributions and royalties, resulted in the state being out of pocket to the tune of Rp 88 billion.
The BPK also found indications that the regent was involved in changing the status of state forests to that of privately owned land without requiring valid title documents to be produced.
It was based on this that the companies granted ownership of forests were exempted from paying the reforestation contributions and forest royalties.
Masdjuni's lawyer, Ujang Supendi, said his client had been asked at least 22 questions by prosecutors regarding the process leading to the issuance of the decree.
The decree was based on "directives" from the relevant authorities, according to Ujang, who rejected the graft charges against the regent.
"The investigation was yet to get to the point of discussing the alleged losses suffered by the state as a result of the issuance of the decree," he added.
The lawyer said the questioning of the regent would continue after Monday's presidential election runoff.
Meanwhile, the Non-Governmental Organization concerned for State Assets (LSM-PKN) revealed on Friday that it had found that the 45 East Kalimantan council members for the 1999-2004 term had allegedly swindled some Rp 1.6 billion allocated out of the province's budget for official trips to other provinces.
After checking with to the local governments listed on the council's itinerary, it turned out that the official visits were fictitious, LSM-PKN executive director Achmad Basori said.
He said that what actually happened was that the councillors had sent officials from the council secretariat instead.
"These officials brought official travel documents to be signed by administration officials in the local government jurisdictions in question, while the councillors pocketed the money without actually making the visits. This is corruption," asserted Basori.
Basori said that the same applied in the case of overseas visits. A number of travel agencies acknowledged that some councillors in East Kalimantan had frequently asked them for blank tickets, but did not use them.
The black tickets were then given to other councillors who did make overseas trips to be endorsed by officials in the destination countries, he added.
Basori said the councillors received Rp 15 million each for official domestic trips twice a year, and Rp 30 million each for an official overseas trip once a year.