Rp 400m Bulog fund set for Habibie campaign
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Former chief of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) Rahardi Ramelan approved the disbursement of Rp 400 million from the agency's non-budgetary funds to finance a project to influence media coverage to promote a favorable image of former president B.J. Habibie in 1999.
Maj. Gen. (ret.) Khalid Ghazali, the former inspector general of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, testified that the disbursement approval was made following a proposal from La Ode Kamaluddin, a former member of the People's Consultative Assembly's interest group faction. Currently, La Ode is one of advisors at the office of the Vice President.
"According to the proposal, the project cost Rp 600 million, but only Rp 400 million was approved," he told the South Jakarta District Court on Tuesday.
"The project was an attempt to brief media to publish positive news about the Habibie administration during the 1999 General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly," said Khalid, who is now the commissioner of state-owned fertilizer company PT Pusri.
He added that he took La Ode to meet Rahardi to hand over the proposal.
According to the proposal, the funds were to be given to four private television companies, state-owned television company TVRI and 25 print media here. Each private television would obtain Rp 28 million, TVRI Rp 56 million and each print media Rp 21 million for publishing positive stories about Habibie during the 14-day session.
B.J. Habibie, who comes from South Sulawesi, was president at the time after replacing Soeharto who stepped down in May 1998. His term was about to end at the time and he was required to present his accountability speech before the Assembly.
The Golkar party had named Habibie as a presidential candidate to run for the 1999 election.
Earlier in the day, former aide to Rahardi, Bustan Jufri, admitted that Rahardi had ordered him to give several checks, including one to Khalid.
"It was for media during the 1999 Special Session, but I didn't know the details," he said, adding that he had also given a check worth Rp 150 million to the House of Representatives although he also did not know what it was for.
Due to the testimony, Rahardi's lawyers asked the panel of judges to present La Ode to testify in the hearing. Presiding judge Lalu Mariyun approved the request despite the objection of chief prosecutor Kemas Yahya Rahman, who claimed that La Ode's testimony had nothing to do with the indictment.
La Ode is expected to testify next week, along with Maj. Gen. (ret) Suwandi, the commander of the presidential guards.
According to the indictment, Suwandi obtained a total of Rp 2 billion from Bulog. The money was used for various purposes, including to buy the guards uniforms.
Judge Lalu also approved the request of Rahardi's lawyers to summon former treasurer of Golkar party Fadel Muhammad as well as vice treasurers Mohammad S. Hidayat and Irish Indira Murti.
Fadel, Hidayat and Irish obtained some of the checks. Irish, the lawyers alleged, received a check on April 20, 1999. Fadel and Hidayat, too, had received several checks from former deputy chairman of Bulog's finance division, Ahmad Ruskandar, the lawyers said.
Fadel, who is also a businessman, is now the governor of the new province of Gorontalo in Sulawesi.
Kemas, again, strongly opposed the idea, but Judge Lalu dismissed his objection, saying that "the request is still within context."
Rahardi, is accused of misusing Rp 62.9 billion (about US$ 7.27 million) of Bulog non-budgetary funds in 1999.
As much as Rp 40 billion of the fund went to Akbar Tandjung, then the state secretary, supposedly for a charitable project, which was said to have been ordered by president B.J. Habibie.
Many believed that the money was used to finance the Golkar party's campaign in the 1999 election.
Akbar, who is now House speaker and head of the Golkar Party, is being tried at the Central Jakarta District Court over the same case.