Sayidiman signs up to Soeharto investigation, Todung declines

JAKARTA (JP): At least one candidate for the special commission to investigate the wealth of former president Soeharto has said he is willing to take up the government's offer to sit on the commission.

Noted military affairs columnist and former envoy to Japan, Lt. Gen. Sayidiman Suryohadiprodjo, told The Jakarta Post and Surya in Bandung Tuesday that he would contribute in whatever way he could.

He confirmed reports that he had been contacted by State Minister/Secretary Akbar Tandjung. "If there's any use in (my membership), why not? I might be able to support it (the commission) within the limits of my capacity. I'm willing," he said, adding that he did not know the other people contacted by the government.

Meanwhile, noted lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said that he declined the government's offer to join the commission because the authority of the commission was unclear, and because of the membership, which he said was too large and also unclear.

"With all due respect ... I decline," he said on the sidelines of a seminar on East Timor. He said that he could not understand why there had to be 30 people, including representatives of retired generals and the business community, among others.

On Monday, noted scholar Nurcholish Madjid also said that he declined to join the commission because the commission's authority was unclear, and because he also felt that he did not have the relevant capacity.

On Tuesday, the private corruption watch group, Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW), of which Todung is a member, charged that the special team was more likely to be a shield against public anger.

"Besides its tendency to be a political bumper against public anger towards the government's reluctance to bring Soeharto to court, it (the commission) will also become a mechanism of the government to evade responsibility."

It also raised fears that the commission, without being given any meaningful authority, could become a tool to make the wealth of former president Soeharto appear legitimate.

ICW coordinator Teten Masduki and Bambang Widjojanto, a member of its ethics council, said the fact that the team would not have investigative authority and a tight deadline of three months would render it powerless.

The plan shows that the government "has not at all shown goodwill in investigating the wealth of Soeharto, let alone bringing him to trial," ICW said. The plan "should therefore be suspected as a cheap political commodity which seems intended to accommodate public aspirations, but can lead to the money laundering of Soeharto's wealth believed to have been illegally stashed, ending in his freedom from the threat of the courts."

Without the authority of investigation, ICW said, "the commission will not be able to gather evidence ... which can only be done by investigating officials or former officials, digging into government documents, breaking through bank secrecy ... inside and outside the country".

ICW also said that 30 members on the commission was too much, and many members did not have the professional capacity to conduct an investigation. ICW also consists of respected lawyer Harjono Tjitrosoebono and former deputy justice for criminal affairs Adi Andojo Soetjipto.

Minister of Justice Muladi said that the commission's membership will be announced Friday, adding that it would be comprised of respected public figures. The government has not identified who they have contacted. (43/anr)