Rudy denies the existence of diary outlining meetings

JAKARTA (JP): The Bank Bali scandal was the focus of the Cabinet meeting on political and security affairs on Thursday, where President B.J. Habibie presented a written statement from former Bank Bali president Rudy Ramli denying the existence of a diary containing notes on his meetings with senior officials, including the President.

Minister of Justice/State Secretary Muladi said the President received the document in a sealed envelope from a very reliable source. He affirmed the authenticity of the letter.

"The President received from someone who is quite trustworthy a sealed statement from Saudara Rudi Ramli," Muladi said at a media briefing after attending the four-hour meeting at Bina Graha presidential office.

Muladi refused to name the source. However, palace officials said that before the Cabinet meeting, Habibie met with Supreme Advisory Council chairman A.A. Baramuli, whose name has been linked to the scandal, at Merdeka Palace.

The President also received International Monetary Fund Asia- Pacific director Hubert Neiss and Supreme Audit Agency chief Satrio B. Yudono before the Cabinet meeting.

In the letter, Rudy reportedly denied the existence of a diary recording his daily activities, including meetings with several top officials, including Minister of Finance Bambang Subianto and World Bank official Michael Edwards.

"I never made a diary of the Bank Bali case or any other case. I also never distributed a diary or a chronology of the Bank Bali case either in typed or hand-written versions. The (reported) chronology did not come from me and I am not responsible for it," Rudy wrote in the letter.

However, Rudy did confirm meeting with Bambang at the latter's residence in April and May, and with World Bank staff member Michael Edwards in March.

"The meetings were just ordinary talks and not meetings to plan and/or discuss actions which were against the law," Rudy wrote.

The latest edition of the weekly magazine Tempo reported Rudy wrote in his alleged diary about a meeting he had with Habibie on May 26 at the President's private residence in Patra Kuningan, South Jakarta.

"The evening after meeting with Tanri Abeng (state minister of the empowerment of state enterprises) and Baramuli on the 40th floor of the Hotel Mulia, Rudy was invited to meet with President Habibie at his private residence," the magazine reported.

According to sources who were present at the Cabinet meeting, Minister of Finance Bambang Subaianto and Bank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin pledged their innocence in the scandal.

"They claimed they did not know much about the scandal," one of the sources said.

The source said the Cabinet meeting discussed three possibilities for ending the Bank Bali controversy, including the full disclosure of an audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers which is expected to be completed on Sept. 7.

"The President complained it would be very difficult to convince the public even if the government was actually very honest," the source said.

A number of ministers blamed Minister of Information Lt. Gen. Yunus, who was absent from the meeting, for giving too much freedom to the national press. The media has exploited the Bank Bali scandal, one of the ministers said as quoted by the source.

"They (ministers) blamed the mirror when they saw how ugly their face was. The press is only a mirror of society," said the source.

Apart from the Bank Bali scandal, the Cabinet also discussed the fate of former president Soeharto. Muladi said last week the government would make a final decision on Soeharto on Thursday.

"Relating to my statement last week on haji Muhammad Soeharto, it is very regrettable that we cannot declare anything (regarding the Soeharto case) today," Muladi said.

He said the Cabinet would make its final decision at the end of the month. (prb)