Said Agil testifies in court
Said Agil testifies in court
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The former minister of religion admitted in court that a number haj pilgrimage accounts had not been properly accounted for, particularly those that provided funding for House of Representative members' haj trips.
Former minister Said Agil Hussein Al Munawar testified that the funds were not reported because it had not been regulated in Law No. 17/1999 on haj pilgrimage arrangements.
"The Law stipulates that we only had to report the haj trust fund (DAU) and haj pilgrimage travel payment (BPIH)," he explained to the Central Jakarta Court on Monday as a witness in the graft trial of former director general of haj management affairs Taufiq Kamil.
Al Munawar acknowledged that there were eight bank accounts (with a total of approximately Rp 300 billion according to prosecutors) outside the DAU and BPIH accounts. All the funds in those accounts were collected from people paying for the haj pilgrimage.
Al Munawar and Taufiq are the main suspects in the corruption case, which centers on the alleged embezzlement of the haj pilgrimage funds between 2001 and 2004, causing the state to suffer some Rp 67 billion (US$6.7 million) and more than $848,000 in losses.
According to Presidential Decree No. 22/2002 on the haj pilgrimage, the Ministry of Religious Affairs is allowed to collect profits raised from arranging the haj pilgrimage. The funds, however, are supposed to be used for things such as Islamic education, poverty alleviation programs and development of haj facilities.
But prosecutors charged that the two senior officials used some of the money for other purposes, such as financing the haj pilgrimage for lawmakers, purchasing wedding gifts for children of lawmakers and other "incentives", given to state auditors assigned to audit the haj pilgrimage program.
Al Munawar and Taufik, who have denied the graft accusations, could be sentenced to life in prison if found guilty of enriching themselves, others and a private company involved in the graft case under the 2001 Anticorruption Law.
According to Al Munawar, the money spent for the wedding gifts and to the state auditors was for "public good and to strengthen the relationship between the minister and the people."
He added that Rp 50 million was used to pay part of the mortgage on legislator Abduh Padare house, but it was aimed at helping Abduh settle some debts.
The holiday bonus and incentives for Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) auditors, Al Munawar claimed, was handed over after discussions between the BPK and the ministry.
Meanwhile, the money provided for House Commission VI legislators' haj trips had been approved by the House, which decided how many people were going, he added.