Sayidiman signs up to Soeharto investigation, Todung declines
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)